tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post7213072341240736815..comments2024-02-25T19:34:27.767-06:00Comments on Grateful Dead Listening Guide: Grateful Deadicepetalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09600688771458155367noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-47953145476317354842010-01-03T22:08:23.976-06:002010-01-03T22:08:23.976-06:00I was listening to the Grateful Dead channel today...I was listening to the Grateful Dead channel today (1/3/10) on my Sirius radio, and they were playing an interview from 1969. The question of the band's name was asked. Jerry responed that the name came from a dictionary. Bob confirmed. They did not elaborate. They did say that some people in the band and Bill Graham thought the name was too "weird", and Grahm did not want to bill them with that name.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-78459308649317809982009-12-30T11:31:29.457-06:002009-12-30T11:31:29.457-06:00O what the hell - three pillars of Zen, three pill...O what the hell - three pillars of Zen, three pillars for the name of the Dead - might as well throw out what I think is the third: the visual impact of the name. There is simply something sunny about the appearance of the word "grateful." I think it is the letter "a" making a long "a" sound, which is why "grey" looks darker than "gray." (Bet a hundred dollars there's some kind of story about "Touch of" being spelled "grey.") And the one word I would use to describe Garcia's guitar solos is sunny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-71694149587999046172009-12-29T08:05:33.033-06:002009-12-29T08:05:33.033-06:00Would like to add to the idea that, however the na...Would like to add to the idea that, however the name came about, it captured something (actually I think a lot) for fans and presumably band members themselves. Knew a great, seminal martial arts teacher who used to say, "The meaning of budo is to die." And of course nearly every religion has the idea of freedom from attachment - the death of desire and so forth. It is then an immediate and eternal irony to be dead... and grateful, and this for me has always been where Garcia cocks an eyebrow, I might say mischievously although other words might work better for other people, takes the stage and the whole dead experience flows from that freedom, every single night. (Not to mention I also think the alternative meanings of the sounds of words are part of the overall impact, so the dead are not just grateful but great and full - one terific overflowing cup of a name in my opinion.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-69450436236981602362009-12-22T16:15:26.374-06:002009-12-22T16:15:26.374-06:00no insights on the origin of the name change - but...no insights on the origin of the name change - but i thought it was interesting how you mentioned the perspective of your kids and "potentially creepy nature of the name"...my kids always known the dead as "the skeleton band" having seen the skeleton mascot on various books, websites, cd covers, tape covers, etc. even at a young age (2-3) this didn't phase them as they see skeletons as cool halloween dudes, not creepy dead bones. so -- when they started hearing the real name "grateful dead" it just made sense!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-60508863860514088662009-12-21T00:31:42.547-06:002009-12-21T00:31:42.547-06:00Somewhere back in the 80s Garcia told me his versi...Somewhere back in the 80s Garcia told me his version of the name change. He stated that Bill Graham was going to have some flyers printed up to promote a local concert and he stipulated that if they didn't change their name from The Warlocks to something else he wasn't going to include them on the flyer. Jerry did find The Grateful Dead in Phil's Dictionary and thought well OK how about Grateful Dead then as a way to meet BG's demand that they change their name. The drift was that they thought it would rattle Graham even more than Warlocks did so they agreed to become The Grateful Dead. <br />Laughing Jap aka SmittyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11743426883724199196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-54612009013203930492009-12-19T20:01:22.139-06:002009-12-19T20:01:22.139-06:00I recall a story that Phil had found a 45 in a rec...I recall a story that Phil had found a 45 in a record store by another band called the Warlocks, which initiated a quest for a new name. During the 11.3.65 studio session they called themselves "The Emergency Crew" because they did not have any other name to use. The story Jerry tells of the dictionary falling open to "Grateful Dead" does feel like the most accurate telling, at least for the reality we now experience. Oh, and when they went back to find that record nobody saw it...<br /><br />The bit about the Egyptian Book of the Dead (aka "Awakening Osiris") is likely fictional, as nobody has ever really documented that quote in the text of the book, ie. translator, page number, published by, etc. However the "Anthem of the Sun" is said to be a musical piece played by an Egyptian orchestra back in Pharonic times.<br /><br />Grateful Dead, the Dead, The Other Ones, whatever the name their mission is to take us FURTHUR. :-)US Bluesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387936856129721233.post-28044480139029801912009-12-19T12:15:36.525-06:002009-12-19T12:15:36.525-06:00One of the problem with "seminal" storie...One of the problem with "seminal" stories is that stories take on a life of their own to the teller, and an imagined memory is just as convincing as if it really happened. You can see this when people in your family tell stories about you when you are younger that aren't really true, but correcting the teller (usually your mother) would be rude, so you let the tale stand. I think Jerry and Phil just remember telling the story so many times that they don't recall what happened. No one ever asks them why they chose the name Warlocks.<br /><br />There's an interview with Jerry from 1975, by Mary Travers, accessible at http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/jerry-garcia/concerts/interview-august-06-1975.html. At about 11:15, Garcia explains to Travers that at the beginning of their career, the Dead played "divorcee bars" on the Peninsula. Travers says "really?," and Garcia says "oh, yeah for years!" with great conviction.<br /><br />Actually they played divorcee bars on the Peninsula for about 7 weeks, perhaps 10 weeks at the most. Now, it must have seemed like years to Jerry, but it simply wasn't true. At the time of the interview, it was just 10 years prior, but already the inserted memory has become real to him, because that's how human nature works.<br /><br />We will never find out the true story of the Dead's naming, which is part of the charm. The people there don't remember, and anyone else who might recall--a girlfriend who was told later that night, for example--has also had their memories mediated by the endless retellings.<br /><br />Now, if someone asked Weir or Billy why the band called themselves Warlocks, they might get a direct and somewhat accurate answer, but it wouldn't be fascinating.Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.com