Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: lbpesq on June 02, 2020, 08:00:27 PM
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So I’m watching CNN this afternoon and they are showing the protestors peacefully sitting in front of the Lincoln Memorial with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument in the background. Right in the middle and at the front is a guy with a big Stealie* shirt! It was a brief moment of normalcy in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy out there!
Bill, tgo
* for our few Grateful Dead impaired members, a “Stealie” is the Dead’s Skull with a Lightening Bolt logo from the Steal Your Face album.
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A few months ago, I was picking Her up at O-Hare; while waiting I saw a kid - who wasn't born when Jerry was alive - in t-shirt with a Stealie, and the legend "We Are Everywhere!" What could I do? I gave him a thumbs-up and said "We certainly are!" He looked cofused for a moment, then remembered what he was wearing and thumbed me back, with a huge grin.
It's a beautiful thing.
Peter
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Everywhere indeed, even here in northwest Florida.
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Everywhere indeed, even here in northwest Florida.
Or, as my brother-in-law - a native of the Panhandle - calls it, L.A.
That's not "Los Angeles", it's "Lower Alabama".........
Peter
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So I’m watching CNN this afternoon and they are showing the protestors peacefully sitting in front of the Lincoln Memorial with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument in the background. Right in the middle and at the front is a guy with a big Stealie* shirt! It was a brief moment of normalcy in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy out there!
Bill, tgo
* for our few Grateful Dead impaired members, a “Stealie” is the Dead’s Skull with a Lightening Bolt logo from the Steal Your Face album.
As a severely Grateful Dead impaired Member I wondered why so many alembics have that inlay or sticker applied. Is there a story or symbolism about it like there is for the alembic logo.
Last night on my way home from doing my radio programme a drummer friend called me to ask about aternatives to this huge mackie powered speaker box he uses as his on stage monitor and for powering his octopad etc. As the conversation progressed we got talking about speaker size and quality and PA's and I suggested to him to check out the Grateful Dead Wall of sound and proceeded to enlighten him about what bits I knew about it and the connection to Bear and Alembic and types of speaker he should look at. Whilst talking he had been doing a search about Grateful Dead and stopped me saying.... " Is it safe to look at Grateful Dead stuff, it's not all that occult and devil worship stuff is it?"
I told him I don't know much about what the reason for the name is and what their music is about but that I had listened to a bit of it and not found that kind of lyricism.
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So I’m watching CNN this afternoon and they are showing the protestors peacefully sitting in front of the Lincoln Memorial with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument in the background. Right in the middle and at the front is a guy with a big Stealie* shirt! It was a brief moment of normalcy in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy out there!
Bill, tgo
* for our few Grateful Dead impaired members, a “Stealie” is the Dead’s Skull with a Lightening Bolt logo from the Steal Your Face album.
As a severely Grateful Dead impaired Member I wondered why so many alembics have that inlay or sticker applied. Is there a story or symbolism about it like there is for the alembic logo.
Last night on my way home from doing my radio programme a drummer friend called me to ask about aternatives to this huge mackie powered speaker box he uses as his on stage monitor and for powering his octopad etc. As the conversation progressed we got talking about speaker size and quality and PA's and I suggested to him to check out the Grateful Dead Wall of sound and proceeded to enlighten him about what bits I knew about it and the connection to Bear and Alembic and types of speaker he should look at. Whilst talking he had been doing a search about Grateful Dead and stopped me saying.... " Is it safe to look at Grateful Dead stuff, it's not all that occult and devil worship stuff is it?"
I told him I don't know much about what the reason for the name is and what their music is about but that I had listened to a bit of it and not found that kind of lyricism.
The reason for so many Alembics having Dead iconography applied is that Alembic - while always an independent entity - was very closely tied to the Dead in their early years, recording, doing (and at the same time inventing) sound reinforcement, and first modifying then building instruments. The "Stealie", if I recall correctly, was a joint design effort between Dead sound guru/financial angel/supporting chemist Owsley "Bear" Stanley and artist Bob Thomas, the latter of whom also painted the cover for Live/Dead and designed the Alembic logo; as to deeper meanings for it a la the Alembic logo, I have no idea.
As to "devil worship" - well, over the years I have heard just about every lyric they did, whether by John Barlow, Bobby Peterson, Robert Hunter, or anyone else, and the closest thing I can see to devil worship is the feeling that at least Hunter must have met Papa Legba down at the crossroads to be that good.......
The reason for the name is that they were originally the Warlocks, but Phil Lesh supposedly saw a 45 by a band with that name (no record of what "Warlocks" it was by, though early versions of both Velvet Underground & ZZ Topp, as well as many others, used the name). While searching for a new moniker, they did a recording session as The Emergency Crew, and considered Vanilla Plumbago, Mythical Ethical Icicle Tricycle, Cruel Potato, Lovelorn Cowboys, and The Hobbits, until (fortunately) one day Garcia (stoned, believe it or not) opened a dictionary and "Grateful Dead" jump off the page. Before becoming forever entwined with the Greatest Rock'N'Roll Band In The History Of The Universe, it referred to a common gene of folksong/folktale wherein a living person allows a disturbed spirit to rest by completing a task said spirit left undone in life.
Peter
[edited to remove unwanted formatting]
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There's a great story from keyboardist Melvin Seals who played with the Jerry Garcia Band - he was a gospel and blues player, didn't know anything about the Grateful Dead, went to the rehearsal space early for a jam/audition, saw skeleton imagery all over the place, and got freaked out! I can't find a specific mention of Satanism, but he does mention in one interview I found where he thought it might be a cult (https://www.tahoeonstage.com/national-bands/melvin-seals-crystal-bay/)! Probably the use of the term "dead" in the name, plus some of the imagery (like the skeleton playing a violin on Blues for Allah) evokes something frightening for some people.
I had heard that the term "the Grateful Dead" came from the Egyptian Book of the Dead - this article (https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mleone/gdead/faq/name.html) suggests that they found the Egyptian one later and that it does come from the genre that cozmic_cowboy mentions.
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The first use of the skull iconographically was Family Dog poster #12, the Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and the New Tweedy Brothers.
https://www.wolfgangs.com/posters/grateful-dead/poster/FD012.html (https://www.wolfgangs.com/posters/grateful-dead/poster/FD012.html)
Then Kelley and Mouse really nailed it down when they used an old woodcut for the unnamed album often referred to as “Skull & Roses”. (The Dead wanted to call the album “Skullf***”, but the record company balked. The Dead insisted Skullf*** or nothing, so the album came out untitled.)
https://bigeagle.store/product/grateful-dead-skeleton-roses-1966-concert-poster-canvas-print-wooden-hanging-scroll-frame/ (https://bigeagle.store/product/grateful-dead-skeleton-roses-1966-concert-poster-canvas-print-wooden-hanging-scroll-frame/)
Bill, tgo (who wrote the real letters but the internet magically inserted the asterisks on Skullf***)
P.S. I read Harry’s above post to Senior Management. Her reply: “you all are a cult!”
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I was actually fascinated by the parable of the Grateful Dead, whereupon a traveler finds a corpse by a roadside and gives it a proper burial. The Dead is Grateful for the favor. I think it speaks to selfless acts and good deeds by strangers. I don't know if that's why they named the band that, but what could be more relevant?
To tell the truth, I would like a nice Stealie t-shirt, if anybody has a good reputable source... ;D
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Liquid Blue has a nice selection and uses high quality shirts.
Bill, tgo
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Thanks for the tip, Bill. Ordered myself one. ;)
* https://liquidblue.com/music/rock-and-roll/grateful-dead/steal-your-blueprint-ash-t-shirt/
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P.S. I read Harry’s above post to Senior Management. Her reply: “you all are a cult!”
I have not inquired, but I am confident that The Lovey & Charming Mrs. Cowboy would concur.
Peter
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And if we are a cult, at least our Kool-Aid is a lot more fun than Jim Jones's!
Peter
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I’ll drink to that. (or at least inhale!)
Bill, tgo
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Cruel Potato 😀
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The Grateful Dead Instagram page just posted about the name! Will try and share
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49977864001_4fed1085fd_c.jpg)
Here's the link to the post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGe5nyJo3V/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet (https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGe5nyJo3V/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet)
Cool thing - I took a screen shot, and my new Mac saves screen shots with the time it was taken - it was 11:11:11!
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Thanks for posting that Harry. :)
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Thanks for posting that Harry. :)
My pleasure! I got so excited when I saw it. I'm actually in a big Zoom meeting but they can't tell what I'm doing, and anyway, this is important!
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My pleasure! I got so excited when I saw it. I'm actually in a big Zoom meeting but they can't tell what I'm doing, and anyway, this is important!
I would agree that you provided us with essential information!
That really is a cool, fun fact. Of course it is from Funk and Wagnalls. 8)
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The Stealie was developed so that it could be spray painted on their gear. That way, after a festival when everyone's crew was in an inebriated state, they could keep track of what was theirs. It was a bit more primitive at the very beginning, I think just a circle with the lightning bolt.
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OK all you Dead-Heads....what do you think about this? Who was it who said.. "Rocks Not Dead....It Just Smells Funny."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/21/entertainment/grateful-dead-vegan-deodorant-trnd/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/21/entertainment/grateful-dead-vegan-deodorant-trnd/index.html)
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Well, the article shows a picture of the band "sometime in the 1960s" which is actually from 1976, so that kind of undercuts their credibility with me........
Peter
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Gee, Keith and Donna weren’t in the band in the 60’s? Heck, you think this guy would know better, after all he’s been a hard core Deadhead since way back when Jerry had only been dead for four years! Personally, I think the idea of Dead deodorant stinks!
hehehehe
Bill, tgo
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I saw that little banner. Yeah, that was a bridge too far. It did not make the cut today... anymore I'm trying to be very selective about input, as it tends to have such a direct effect on output. Google, I assume by data-mining me, has figured out I like Grateful Dead music, and thought I needed to know about that one. ::)
*by the way, got my Stealie shirt from Liquid Blue - very nice. :)
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Heck, you think this guy would know better, after all he’s been a hard core Deadhead since way back when Jerry had only been dead for four years!
Bill, tgo
While my usual response is as I relayed in the 2nd post of the thread, if I'm in a pissy mood & see a kid sporting Deadwear, I'll ask how many shows they were at........
Peter
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Looks to me that CNN added the picture and wrote the caption, so I don't think we can fault the deodorant company for that. Personally, I don't use deodorant; but then I live in the woods.
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The reason for so many Alembics having Dead iconography applied is that Alembic - while always an independent entity - was very closely tied to the Dead in their early years, recording, doing (and at the same time inventing) sound reinforcement, and first modifying then building instruments. The "Stealie", if I recall correctly, was a joint design effort between Dead sound guru/financial angel/supporting chemist Owsley "Bear" Stanley and artist Bob Thomas, the latter of whom also painted the cover for Live/Dead and designed the Alembic logo; as to deeper meanings for it a la the Alembic logo, I have no idea.
Peter
One of the members of a Dead related music sharing site I visit from time to time put together a short piece about Bob Thomas and the cover art for Live/Dead. His take is that the imagery on the cover depicts Easter morning. I copied the text and images and placed them in a PDF file for easier viewing. The links should still be active. In the second paragraph Bob Thomas's name links to a blog article with lots of info about his artwork and music. Filled with iconic GD LP covers, the Alembic logo, steal your face logo etc. Club members who have made the trek to the mothership have all gotten to see the original painting of the Alembic logo, it was hanging in the showroom up in Santa Rosa and is most likely in the same location at the new Alembic facility.
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Thanks Stephen!
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That's neat-o thank you!
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Just another one of life's cool coincidences. One of my earliest bass influences was the bassist in a local eclectic folk act call No Strings Attached, a hammered dulcimer band, the only one I know of. The bassist - Bob Thomas. I received my first tutorial on bowing the upright from him waaaay back in August of 1991. No longer with us, but Bob is very much still in my head every time I pull a bow across the strings.
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I have seen hammered dulcimers played as a solo act or with another dulcimer - never in a band setting! Too cool! I vaguely know a folkie couple who sing duets to his guitar - or she plays dulcimer alone.
It was her I heard addressed by another folkie with "How long does it takes to tune a hammered dulcimer? Nobody knows....."
Peter