Beams

[rv_bass]

Just curious, does anyone know who's beam came first, Mickey Hart's or Francesco Lupica's, and how they differ?  Is one influenced by the other? Is there collaboration between the two musicians on instrument development and performance? Is Alembic involed with both beams?

[StephenR]

I wasn't familiar with Francesco so I did a quick search. Looks like he was performing with his beam in 1978 which would certainly pre-date Mickey's use of his on stage with the GD. But, Mickey's first beam was made for the 1979 Apocalypse Now sessions even if he didn't initially use it on stage. I would be very surprised if Mickey was not aware of Francesco and his beam when he did the Apocalypse Now sessions.
 
There is a good article about the history of Mickey's beam on his website. Originally it did have an Alembic pickup and Rick Turner helped with pickup re-designs, too,  but after his tenure at Alembic.
 
https://www.mickeyhart.net/news/all-about-beam-baby-5211
 
This is an interesting subject and I hope someone else has more info beyond what can be found by a simple Internet search.

[StephenR]

Okay, poked around a bit more on a website called Virtual Venice which was where I found an interview with Francesco from 1978. There is another entry about Francesco's Beam which contains the following quote that answers at least a couple of your questions.
 
Francisco used to play in a band called Shanti with tabla player Zakir Hussain and, being a drummer, became friendly with Mickey when Shanti would open for the Dead. I would later get to watch as Mickey and Dead soundman Dan Healy would show up at Francisco's concerts to get a closer look at the Beams, even making drawings and taking photos. Mickey would later purloin Francisco's Beam and build one of his own to use in the Drums portion of the Dead shows ... Ed Perlstein
 
 
http://www.virtualvenice.info/music/francisco.htm

[rv_bass]

Thanks for the info, stephenr. This photo was recently posted on the Alembic Instagram site, which sparked my interest.
 
https://instagram.com/p/94lBcLgNNJ/

[StephenR]

Cool pic. I haven't checked the Instagram page in a while. Maybe Mica will chime in with a bit more info...

[elwoodblue]

!!wow!!

[811952]

When I visited back in '11 I think, Ron showed me a pickup he made for the Cosmic Beam, and how it was the largest coil he'd ever wound. There were challenges with keeping the windings from collapsing down the bobbin, and if I recall correctly, he dabbed superglue on them every so often to hold them in place.
 
So much history is tied to one family.
 
John