Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: lbpesq on March 26, 2007, 10:47:16 AM
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O.K., how many of us came to Alembic through the Grateful Dead? How many play Dead music?
I'll be the first to throw my hat in this ring. Yes on both accounts.
Bill, tgo
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ya know bill
i dont remember how i found alembic..lmao
had to be through my deadness....
i did see jack play#1 but didnt know who made it
binghampton 73 or was it 74?
uh
i play some dead tunes......
does over 150 shows count?
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No Grateful Dead connection here. I came to Alembic through Stanley.
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sign me up
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Me to.
Chuck
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I most definitely came to Alembic because of the Dead connection. I became a return customer because of the unparalleled quality, craftsmanship, and customer service. I play Grateful Dead material and lots of other stuff.
Peace
Tom
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I wouldn?t classify myself as a ?Deadhead? but I do like their music.
I too was more influenced by Stanleys than the ?Dead? connection to Alembic. But my greatest influence and introduction to Alembic was a schoolmate in High School who bought a new Series-1, let me play it once and I was hooked.
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That's why I'm here!
Mark
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I came to Alembic through my Dad. I started carrying his Series I for him when I was 4 years old.
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Stanley, no DH connection whatsoever though I did have to cover a few tunes in my day.
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I'm probably the only one that got here THIS way:
Michael Rutherford (of Genesis)
I was looking through his equipment list, and he had Alembic listed. Being curious, I checked out a Distillate in the early 80's, and that was it for me.
Ken (TEO)
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I found Alembic about two days after deciding to play bass. I had never heard of them and had no idea who might play Alembic. What I did know was as soon as the music store guy put it in my hand I found something special. 20 some years later here I am.
Sam
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Funny enough, my introduction to Alembic was through Zeppelin bootlegs and John Paul's tone was not the greatest at that period and sounded inappropriate for the older stuff w/ the Jazz bass. So why did I get one anyways? I found an '86 Distillate which sounded great and basically stole it from the store, and the G.A.S continues.
Now I'm going to ask for an explanation from you Dead Heads(something I've been meaning to ask). What is it about them that makes them so appealing to you? I've played many festivals w/ jam bands and they were all good bands w/ very good players I just did'nt get it. I do not ask this with any insults implied I just feel that I could get a better explanation here than the atypical cogh cough it's the Dead bro, whadda ya mean ya don't get it cough cough?
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Stanley Clarke, but not because I had heard him play. I hadn't, that didn't come until much later. It was an art school project to re-do an existing black and white magazine ad. Found one with this tall dude holding this teeny-tiny bass. Cool looking bass, me thought. Forgot all about Alembics until I bought one almost twenty years later.
Well, there was a Zep concert in 1980. Achilles' Last Stand shook the ground. But I don't remember too much more from that night, yeesh.
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JAE
'nuff said. For now....
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Adam:
What can I say? A live Dead show, when the muse graced us with it's presence, was the nearest thing to a religious experience I've ever been privy to. It was more than music. I love a lot of different types of music, from Bob Wills to Beethoven, but, as many before me have noted: There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.
After Winterland closed, Bill Graham had the following painted on the side: They're not the best at what they do. They're the only ones that do what they do. The Dead had their own, unique approach to music and the music business. They were in it for the art/music/whatever you want to call it. No selling out (arguably, towards the end they played in larger venues than they wanted because they had a family of about 60 employees to support .... but not for personal gain). The bottom line is that when they were running on all cylinders, we together took our minds, spirits, (and sometimes bodies!) on a breathtakingly beautiful trip through the cosmos. By we I mean not only the guys up on stage, but also the 5000 or so of us crowded into Winterland. At those magical moments the audience was every part a member of the band as any of the instrumentalists. And I don't mean it in the usual sense it is used in rock 'n roll. With the Dead it really happened, it was amazing, and it never failed to completely blow my mind. I miss it.
Bill, tgo
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I've played in a band since '90 that does about 60% Dead stuff, but it had nothing to do with my interest in Alembic. I grew up as a big fan of several bands where the bassists played Alembic at one point or another (The Who, Zeppelin, Airplane), but that had nothing to do with me coming here.
I came to Alembic basses because I was able to play one or two and they were the best.
-bob
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I was 16 when I saw a pic of the mighty Jack Casady playing 72-001 in Crawdaddy. I'd been playing bass for about six months and knew that some day, one day, I would own a bass from whoever made that one. It only took me 26 years, but I finally made it. Stanley's was probably the first Alembic I heard. I was just as blown away by the sound as buy the looks.
Got more into the Dead about 15 years ago
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i came to alembic through the dead...
Fell in love with Phils tone on europe '72...
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Non-deadhead here.
Jimmy Johnson with James Taylor was the first Alembic I ever saw.
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Okay, what if you are a deadhead, a huge fan of the New Riders, and yet, came to Alembic by way of Stanley Clarke ( or just by way of recognizing bass engineering genius when you saw it)? Is this bad?
rick
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(cough cough)
Anybody know any Dead?
Sure, you know Friend of the Devil?
Yea, what key?
I don't know, how about G.
Cool ..
(cough)
[15 minutes later]
Wow, that was great!
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Being turned on to Stanley Clarke and Alembic (simultaneously, of course) was a big factor in my being a bass player.
But I'm most definitely a Deadhead.
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lol...good one Dave....
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Geez, Dave, stamina issues?
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No Bob, I broke a string.
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Okay, what I gather from Bill's statement is that it is the Dead's live shows that kicked it for him and most likely the rest of you. I can dig it, I mean that is the way to truly appreciate music IMHO.
Which string Dave?
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Adam; I usually break the D string at the bridge; however, at our last gig I broke the G string at the ball.
We have China Cat and Eyes Of The World in our set list. I love playing both tunes.
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It's great stuff. You only have to learn one or two tunes and you can do a set. A dozen songs is enough for a whole night's entertainment! Dave, I can't say that we ever tried to stretch FoD to 15 minutes. That must have been something!
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You know Dave I would reword lines that talk about breaking G strings at the ball. :-)
Keith
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Stanley .. Alembic .........(30 years) ..........buy an Alembic, then another Alembic .. (1 year) .. jam Dead with club member .. (1 year) .. play Dead gig with same club member.
I have always been aware of the Dead phenomenon and their music but I wish I had really investigated them much earlier in my time playing bass. It is fun stuff to play.
Rich
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Yes Keith, I know what you mean. The last time I broke a G string at the ball I was told that'll be fity buks.
Dave, file your bridge bro, cough,cough,cou......gh, wheeeeeeezzze.
That was the Punch Rothschild not the other stuff.
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Stan the Man...seen him on UK TV show 'Old grey whistle test', didn't recognise bass(not a fender or gibson..what is it?)
Bought'School Days' cover notes 'Alembic basses', wished for one from 1976 to 1998(22 years) MK standard bought in New York whilst I was on holiday from Rudy's Music Stop for $1800(a bargain)
Brought it back, was offered ?2000(sterling) as someone collared me in the pub after seeing me gig it..no sale mate..waited too long for one.
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Although I'm a huge fan of the dead, I'd never given any thought to their equipment. Same with Stanley; I've been a fan of his since schooldays came out in '76. In fact, the only bass I ever coveted was a rick 4001 as Chris Squire played on and he's the one that turned me onto bass playing in 1974.
I ended up with my epic after several weeks of auditioning every 'boutique' instrument I could afford in 1996. It says something when Alembic's entry level instrument can wipe the floor with top of the range Warwicks and pre-gibson tobias'.
Graeme
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Grateful who?
Not a Deadhead. In fact, I've never gotten the whole Dead thing. Same way I never got the whole Phish thing, or Dave Matthews thing. Never been a Dead Head, never will be.
I came to Alembic through Stanley, John Alec Entwistle, and Greg Lake.
Alan
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I'm more of a Deadbeat dad than a Dead head!...LOL!
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I wasn't a dead fan, but a bass playing friend was and he showed up one night with a $2000.00 bass he had just bought, (this was in 1976) I had to ask what kind of drugs he was on to pay 2 grand for a bass, he let me play it all night and the next day I went to a music store and they had 2 Alembic instock, and when I left, they only had 1 in stock. that was 7-2-76 I loaded up my $2000.00 in to my $200 Karmann Ghia rag top with the top down, it looked like I was hauling a surfboard and the rest is history
David T
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I spent Friday and Saturday with the Dark Star Orchestra. And drove 360 miles RT to Portland to do so.
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I was searching around for a new bass after my Warwick broke (ungh that sucked and its a long story. I HATE music123.com) and found a couple alembics on ebay. I then found the site and my face exploded when I saw the price. After my face was reassembled I promptly bought one.
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Deadhead? Oh, yeah - though not what you'd call hardcore (I never drove more than 700 miles for a show. ) And Alan, the first instrument I ever bought was a Winston P-bass copy ($75 w/a Paris combo amp.) To mention Dave Matthews in an explaination of why you're not a Deadhead is akin to my saying I really don't get the fuss about Alembic, and I didn't get the Winston, either. The difference is that great.
When Garcia died, Dylan said There are a lot of spaces between Buddy Holly and the Carter Family and, say, Ornette Coleman. Somehow he managed to fill them all. That pretty much extrapolates to the band as a whole, and that's what it was about for me - what Mickey Hart called using a rock lexicon with a jazz syntax. But, ulitmately it's like the Harley t-shirt says - If I need to explain it....... me, I got it, and one of the great joys of my life is that I was able to be present for the creation of that magic on multiple occasions.
Peter
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Right on, Peter! I got it too and it changed my musical life. I miss the Grateful Dead!
Bill hit it on the head - and Adam picked up on it. The Grateful Dead thing is about the LIVE performance. At their worst the Dead were a very professional improvisational rock band. At their best they were a true force of nature - Pure Magic!
It's probably not really any different than any aesthetic experience that sends you. It's difficult to write about what it is technically that causes the magic. I'm thankful to have experienced the Grateful Dead phenomenon.
By the way - I don't see that's it's come up in this thread, but, in case anyone was wondering, it wasn't entirely about the drugs either. I've seen many Dead shows completely sober and the magic was absolutely as palpable as when I was in an altered state.
It's just really cool to me that the origins of Alembic are entwined with the history of the Grateful Dead and that spirit of creativeness and innovation in art and life.
Peace
Tom
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Sorry, but I felt the need to chime in again. In 1992, I drove from Portland to Oakland, in December, to see 2 shows. Drove back up to take a final and then back down the next day for 2 more shows. And only one car got totalled in the process!
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Peter:
I'd never heard that quote by Mickey before, but I wasn't surprised to read it. For years I've described Dead music as a jazz approach using rock 'n roll tools.
Bill, tgo
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I feel a good deal of Bluegrass in the Grateful Dead's music. Sometimes when I hear (or am playing with) a really kickin' Bluegrass group that goes jammin' I think, 'Man, this is really kinda Dead.'
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uhhh...43?
(counting me)
Mike
P.S. yeah, I only went to about six shows, but I loved them all.
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whats the first thing a deadhead says when they run out of drugs...........
this band sucks.......
awh just kidding
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What a long, strange trip it's been.
Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions.
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good one flax.
I think Dead Heads are interesting creatures. Especially the ones that grew up and made good in the world but didn't get out of completely.
I've got a friend who is just such a person. Well to do. Invested some serious bucks in a nice amplifier and some really nice speakers. Well over 10k on those two items I'm sure. And he listens to nothing but dead bootlegs. Go figure. I'm not even sure he know's what his speakers are even capable of.
I'm not sayin' it's wrong. Just very interesting.
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I have seen a shirt that says
Jerry's dead, Phish sucks, Get a job
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Can I buy one without the Phish Sucks part. Those guys were really good. I think we're totally hijacking this thread. Sorry Bill.
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Doc:
Forget about those directions I sent you for the gathering this Saturday. They are ... er ... not the right directions ... yea ... not the right directions ... I'll ... uh ... send you some other directions ... yea, that's the ticket. ... I'll send you some new good directions. hehehehe
Bill, tgo
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Right. No worries mate.
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I guess that's the crux of the matter Doc (re: your friend)....
I spent my whole college career as a sound recording major seeking out and listening intently to whatever GD shows I could get my hands on (mind you, this was before LMA, SHN vines and whatnot).... I mean sure, I did a ton of critical listening and refined my ear thanks to plenty of other artists. But, to follow/disect/analyze the performance of a group of musicians across a span of 30+ years was a task I felt up to at that time.
In doing so, not only did I learn about different recording techniques & technology through the ages. I also heard the evolution of all the backline equipment~ of which Alembic had a great deal to do with at certain place & time.....
I was able to deduce from my observations that Alembic might be a company which I could place my trust in to deliver a certain aspect of that sound which I wasted so much of my formative years listening to.....
Im glad they were able to deliver.
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...love that Thick air, .
: )
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Doc:
A point about your friend with the expensive equipment listening to Dead bootlegs. The multitude of audience tapes floating around are not really bootlegs. The Dead not only didn't discourage audience tapes, they encouraged it! They set up a band authorized special taping section right behind the soundboard. There you could find dozens of tapers with state of the art equipment taping right out in the open. Additionally, unlike the overwhelming majority of rock bands, the Dead played CLEAN. Even on recordings of lesser quality, one can easily make out each individual instrument. In this regard, I have found the Dead similar to classical music and/or Dixieland Jazz where a lot is going on - each instrument playing something different - but you can make out each part, they all fit together, and the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts.
Bill, tgo
(Message edited by lbpesq on March 28, 2007)
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I'm a Deadhead. I used to play in a Dead cover band, and I've usually been able to convince whatever band I'm in to do at least a Dead tune or two. I think my introduction to Alembic came from a friend who had one. He was more of a Rush freak, strangely. His name is Dave Letendre and he could play the heck out of that bass. I remember thinking that it was the coolest bass I had ever seen; a mid- '80's Spoiler with a bubinga top and Persuader electronics.
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Not to mention, Bill, the multitude of soundboard recordings that have - for better of worse - slipped into the trading circles. It is probably not a stretch to say that the Grateful Dead easily have the most well documented and publicly available audio archive of their 30ish years of live performances.
Doc - your comments are amusing - I've heard almost the exact same reference to Alembic owners as interesting creatures. The Dead/Alembic connection deepens.
Peace
Tom
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No Deadhead here either. But without them would we have Alembic?
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Very valid point Michael.
Bass being my first and main instrument I often tend to think of Stanley when I think Alembic when in reality one wonders if there wasn't a Grateful Dead would there be an Alembic guitar company. (Things that make you go, HMMMMM)
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Deadhead, (heard Truckin on AM630 in '72 in DC) +plus 2 older brothers influenced my taste, ++ around 76 / 77 or so, Veneman's in Rockville MD had a used Alembic, $2k or so I recall, that I was fascinated with. Series I IIRC, plus the body had a carved pattern resembling tooled leather all the way around the edge of the body. It was huge, beautiful, and way out of my price range.
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How many Deadheads does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one, but they wait for it to burn out and then follow it around for 10 years first.
--From the Grateful Dead East Coast Hotline circa 1991.
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Words from the wise:
'I read somewhere that 77 per cent of all the mentally ill live in poverty. Actually, I'm more intrigued by the 23 per cent who are apparently doing quite well for themselves.' ? Jerry Garcia
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One of the 23% has custody of Anna Nicholes baby.
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that baby's worth a half billion dollars
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I'd say that makes him doing quite well indeed.
But only a crazy man would think that people can't see through his devious plan.
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I got introduced to Alembics by...
John Panozzo of STYX!
His ebony-faced Scorpion is still my dream bass.
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OK. Perhaps I was misunderstood. I did not say that any of this was bad. I only said that I find it interesting. Perhaps there is some re-training camp for people that don't think nice things about deadheads. Or are percieved to be knocking deadheads.
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Doc:
As a matter of fact there is. Camp is this Saturday in Northern California. Your place is being held. Prepare for a Dead jam! (among other things). LOL
Bill, tgo
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Bill: That is assuming I have the right directions of course.
Ok. To tell the truth, I love dead type jam sessions. I really get into a groove. I even like listenng to a lot of them too. As evidenced by the fact that I really dig Phish. All I'm saying is that I am not a Dead Head, and I was never really heard a recording (bootleg or otherwise)that I liked. My favorite Jam Bands are Phish, Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule. Rare Earth had some really good jams on their live stuff too. Same with Johnny & Edgar Winter. Anyone have the White Trash Roadwork Album. Smokin Jams on that.
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Doc:
Try Live Dead (recorded by Ron W. hisself)
'nuff said.
Bill, tgo
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I really like the sound of the Blues For Allah studio album. And the first song on the album, Help on the Way / Slipknot, is just a great tune. I think it's a very nice studio recording of a very nice tune; an enjoyable listening experience!
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Oww! Roadwork, what a smokin' album. Randy Jo Hobbs was the man! He was one of my favorite bass players when I first started playing. My folks had one of those mid-sixties Zenith stereo cabinet piece of furniture jobs that was about five feet long. I used to lay under it to get better bass. One day my mom, who was a piano teacher / church music director, heard me listening to that album and asked who it was. Edger Winter's White Trash! I replied. Certainly sounds like it, she snorted.
Reid
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Yes indeedy deedy doo! Through the Dead I found you! My bands are Juba Juba, Colorado Rain, and occasionally Shakin' Bones. Those names don't give it away do they?
Gil
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Wish I could've made camp this year Bill. Looks like you guys are going to have a great time. Maybe next year.
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rraymond: My dad actually turned me on to that album. We used to (ahem) skip Church once in awhile and go to record shows in Houston. We'd go in while the guys were still loading in their wares(befare the admission booth was set up thereby getting in for free) and pick through their stuff. I think we were usually done shopping by the time the show would open up. We'd take home our treasures. Fire up the BBQ. Throw some vinyl on the spinning platter and basque in the sounds of our new found treasures. Anyway, he picked up the Roadwork album one day and popped it on the table. I was a budding trombone player at the time and he was raving about the horn section on the album. The sax player was hitting some notes I never knew a sax could do. And he had some serious sustain to boot. Dad this guy was particularly awesome because he played a really hard reed. Maybe a 4 or 5 or something like that.
aaahhh. good times. Sunday afternoon listening to vinyl.
Doc the thread hijacker
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Bill: I just went to Amazon and purchased Live/Dead I'll report my findings upon further investigation.
And just so there are no illusions about my playing this weekend, I do not know any dead tunes at all.
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ahh, but you can learn!!!!! Seriously though, one of the more refreshing aspects of the Dead catalog is the breadth of music styles covered. Blues, Country, Folk, R&B, Rock 'n Roll, New Orleans, Space, and more. Even the almost baroque sound of China Doll, complete with Harpsichord! The Dead catalog is truly an homage to Americana.
Bill, tgo
P.S., don't worry, I play other stuff besides the Dead. Ever hear of The New Riders or JGB? hehehehe
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here is a handy little tidbit
i saw this on either archive;s site
the most downloaded show is rfk 6/10/73
last time i looked over 150,000 people have it
thats just on their site
i was at that show....
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like the dead?
download 6/10/73
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Doc, those sound like some great Sunday afternoons! The sax guy was Jon Smith, and he went on to play with Albert Collins. A killer player.
Meandering back on track: I'm a Stanley guy, however, I have played two Dead songs, Bertha, and Friend of the Devil, and I saw their last two shows in Portland, OR in May '95. They were great!
Reid
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Hey, Bill.
I'll learn some Dead if you can do Roundabout
:-)
(Back to your regularly scheduled thread)
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IMHO, the three things that make the Dead utterly unique (that no-one else has mentioned here) are:
Dynamics - from whisper-quiet to very loud (though always clean as Bill has stated)
Space - there's a lot of (milliseconds of) silence in Dead music.
Phrasing - especially Jerry's. He sure could mix the notes up.
Mark
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Hi I'm Roger, and I'm a Deadhead.
I came to Alembic through the Grateful Dead.
I have never heard another band with such spontenaity or passion. The ability for ALL of them to turn on a dime improvisationally like a school of fish, or a flock of birds sends me to meditation every time. Stoned, or not.
And I always end up asking Damn, how did they DO that? and then I end up saying was that my exit I just passed?
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I came to Alembic through John Entwistle, 1979 movie The Kids Are Alright. I remember saying to myself what the $@&$!@ is that thing (paraphrased) during the Baba O'Reilly cut.
I was a very impressionable 17 year old
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The Dead. Definately! Stanley and the Brown Bass!
Jack with#1 and the Ox. All had an early influence. Firstly was by touch. I had bought a 5-string Ric and at the store got my hands on a maple Spoiler. That as has been said many times..
that was all she wrote. Nice touch. amazing sound. I had to have one.
The Dead played so many different venues, I've been to many. The sound projection was always amzing.
Answering the original question is yes to both and Saint Stevens is still one of my fav's to play. Love the changes.
NLP
(Message edited by inthelows on March 30, 2007)
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Bill plays both kinds of music, Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band.
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grateful...
I mentioned the 'thick air',(trying not to sound 'air'ogant)(ouch..sorry)...
... I suppose that could be interpreted as a delightfully smoky venue;
tho they could sure make silence charged with electricity ,... yum,i miss that
elwood
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Sorry Elwood, I thought you were referring to the colored silence in Anthem of the Sun!
Mark
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Grateful,your right...
I'm always stoned,sacrificing clarity for creativity at times.
(time to try these new g12-m's)...6 am I wonder if my nieghbors will notice.
pardon my wake of confusion
: )
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I was introduced to the Alembic web site through a friend. ('Man, you have to check this bass out')
I knew a little about Jerry's guitars, but had limited knowledge of Alembic. Once I began to browse the site I learned lots, and began to lust after an Alembic of my own.
Luckily enough, I now get to settle down with a Skylark, in coco bolo no less. Life is good.
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Reid,
My first concert was in Dec 1969 with the headliner being Johnny Winter. During his set he introduced his little brother Edgar. What a great experience. The rest of the show was Nazareth and Grand Funk Railroad.
And to keep things on track, someone mentioned Anthem of the Sun. That album showed up in my possesion somehow, no idea where it came from. I remember thinking man, this is strange but very compelling. How can you not like a song called New Potato Crosseyed Caboose?
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Sam:
Close. The songs on Anthem include New Potato Caboose and another called Born Cross-Eyed. For total name weirdness, there is the suite entitled: That's It For The Other One: / Cryptical Envelopment / Quadlibet For Tender Feet / The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get / We Leave The Castle.
Bill, tgo
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Bill
Wasn't there a song on there about an alligator also? It's hard to think back almost 40 years.
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Sam:
Alligator it was! Here's the list of songs on Anthem:
That's It For The Other One
I. Cryptical Envelopment (Garcia)
II. Quadlibet For Tender Feet (Weir)
III. The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get (The Grateful Dead)
IV. We Leave The Castle (The Grateful Dead)
New Potato Caboose (Lesh/Petersen)
Born Cross-Eyed (Weir)
Alligator (Lesh/McKernan/Hunter)
Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) (McKernan)
You should listen to Anthem again - 40 years is too long!
Bill, tgo
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A week's too long Bill ;-)
Graeme
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Bill: I got Live/Dead. I have thoroughly scrutinized it. I like the sound. I like the musicianship. I like the music. But, the vocals just kill me. I think I may be a perfectionist when it comes to vocals. I can't stand when vocals are out of tune. Drives me nuts.
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Well, it's no mystery the Dead weren't that great when it came to singing. Individually, they may have had their moments, but for the most part, you just had to live through the verses to get to the jams. Hey, they provide a natural place to get another beer or whatever. Lyrics were ofen brilliant, though, thanks to Robert Hunter and John Barlow.
Oh, and phylo, an alternate version for your joke is...
How many Deadheads does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None, they all screw in the back of VW Microbusses.
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OK, Doc, you've got a good start - next you need American Beauty and/or Workingman's Dead, then Europe '72. The first 2 are the the boys finally figuring out the studio, and are chock full of exquisitely crafted songs, and the the last combines that with the improvizational majesty of Live/Dead - and the vocals on all 3 are much better that L/D; AB & WMD due to care in the studio, E '72 I guess they were just on those nights (I have concert tapes of other shows from that tour that don't sound that good) - and on E '72 you get 5-part harmony! But, even at their best, nobody will mistake them for trained voices with perfect pitch (well, I think Lesh has it, but you wouldn't know from his singing...) Objectively, can I say any of them sing as well as, say, Peter Cetera or Brad Delp? No. Would I listen to Cetera or Delp instaed of them? Only if you chained me down and forced me. I can't explain it, but I enjoy their singing, such as it is.
Peter
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Peter, don't expect perfect pitch to have any effect on how well somebody can sing - you really don't want to hear me sing.
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Peter, the vocals on Europe 72 were overdubbed: I have acquired a copy of the last night at the Lyceum featuring Truckin' and Morning Dew from E72 and the vocals are different (less good!) But hearing Truckin'>The Other One>Morning Dew>The Other One makes up for the less good vocals. IMHO, the Dead peaked in 73-74 when Jerry was playing his Alembic through the Alembic PA. Dick's Picks Vols 1, 12, 14 and 19 are all from this era and I prefer them to E72.
Mark
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Doc:
Great improv playing, ain't it? Ditto on all the above comments re: vocals. If you want good vocals, then Workingman's Dead and American Beauty it is. The boys were hanging out with CS&N during this period and the vocal influence really shows on these albums. One other point: for me, at least, there are some singers whose gift is not that of a beautiful sounding voice but, rather, their gift is the indescribable ability to convey emotion and feeling as they sing. Perhaps the finest example of this phenomenon is Bob Dylan. IMHO, Jerry Garcia was another great shining light in this category. And I've always loved Pigpen singing the blues. Watch out or we'll make a Deadhead out of you yet! hehehehehe
Bill, tgo
(Message edited by lbpesq on April 17, 2007)
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So far, I prefer all of the other both unofficial/official recordings of the Europe '72 tour, my fave to date is the Rockin' The Rhein release. The Steppin' Out from the English leg is decent, as is the other German release Hundred Year Hall.
IMHO, they (i.e., GD, Inc.)need to make good on the promise of a COMPLETE collection of ALL (Alembic et al) documented performances of that tour, warts and all.
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Wow, I always felt that Bob Dylan?s vocals were totally void of emotion. I feel his ability to relay his feelings lives in his lyrics.
Now if want emotion, try Joe Cocker, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles.
Of course this is just my opinion. Neither right nor wrong just an opinion.
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Olie. The same could be said for one of my favorites,Kris Kristofferson.
Chuck
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Very true Chuck, likewise with Willie Nelson. Crazy is a great song but I'm sure glad Patsy Cline sang it for him.
Congrats to Kris too for the award last night.
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Adriaan - now that you mention it, I recall that a piano/harpsichord player I dated when the world was young made a point of differentiating her perfect pitch from her perfect ear - my bad.
Mark - I knew there was some dubbing, but never knew what - though I guess it makes sense that if you're dubbing a Dead performance, you'd start w/the vocals.
I also love Dylan's singing - and Neil Young, and Kristofferson, and all those 90-year-old blues and bluegrass and old-timey cats that still do it, wavering but real. What can I say? It does it for me more than polish does.
Peter
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I thought perfect pitch was tossing a banjo in the wastebasket, and not hitting the sides.
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I used to play off and on with a woman in the Chicago area who had perfect pitch. She taught at one of the colleges. She would notice very quickly when someone was not on pitch when we played. The surprising thing is she liked Dylan and his singing voice a lot. Even though he was not always on pitch she said his technique (or lack of) was perfect for the song. Go figure.
Keith
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Bradley, the way I see it the banjo needs to miss the waste basket completely. ;-)
Anyway - my wife doesn't have perfect pitch, but when we're listening to any music where a vocalist or instrumentalist is off-pitch, we both cringe - at least if the music is of the kind where pitch goes before expression.