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Jerry Garcia Interview

by: Gtateful Dead

Greg Harrington

Publication date: 1981-07-10 00:00:00

Jerry Garcia Interview

Raddison Hotel, room 1503

St. Paul, Mn.

July 10, 1981

Disk 1

1. Intro>reckogning album> 03:06
2. Song Selections for acoustic sets> 01:27
3. Filming of Dead Ahead and other film projects> 04:08
4. Dead Set record> 01:10
5. 15 years so far> 01:18
6. Writing with Robert Hunter> 02:55
7. Working without a net> 03:26
8. The addition of Brent to the band> 00:55
9. Jerry on tapping shows! 01:05
10. Venue breakdowns> 02:06
11. Unbroken Chain?/Jerry's car> 01:13
12. Working without a net reprise> 03:01
13. Unbroken chain rehearsal tapes> 03:50
14. Improvisation vs. formula> 03:22
15. Looking forward to 1982> 03:09
16. Have you heard about Deadbase? 01:20
17. Introductions of freaks> 00:15
18. Jerry on the Midwest> 01:54
19> Jerry smokes a jay> 02:19
20. Is the Uptown Theatre (in Chicago) Closed? 03:30

Disk 2

1. /Getting Althea right> 02:02
2. Here's the jay> 04:57
3. Bobby Wierd> 03:19
4. Touring across America> 04:25
5. Working with Phil and Micky> 04:30
6. Flying to gigs> 04:29
7. Pat calls for backstage passes> 01:49
8. Jerry bums a smoke> 02:58
9. Iko Iko and other song's mysteries> 03:22
10. Jerry on world events> 02:52
11. "This is not the right world for our trip"> 03:11
12. We got to get going 01:07
13. Althea/ (1981-07-10) 05:55

Notes

This is one of the only candid interview tapes of Jerry in circulation. It starts with a journalist named Greg

Harrington asking some very intelligent questions about all types of topics and Jerry is very warm and generous during the interview. Later a few heads join the party and the tape keeps rolling. At one point someone sparks a jay and Jerry is inclined to smoke up with his new friends. What ensues is just hilarious as Jerry and company get progressively more stoned. This tape is a rare glimpse into the wonderful mind of Jerry Garcia. After listening to it, you will have a much better understanding of what it must have been like to be a member of the Grateful Dead, what was the process or lack of it for the band and who really is Jerry and what is his trip?

This is a wonderful part of my collection. I have seen a copy converted by someone else, but I have taken the time to convert a high bias 3rd GEN cassette to digital.

Note: Take special note to track 9 on disk 1. I Hope you enjoy Jerry's opinion on the matter of tapping shows.

Addeddate: 2004-12-27 10:44:21

Identifier: jg1981-07-10-Interview.shnf

Source: MC>C>AIFF>WAV>SHN

Taped by: Greg Harrington

Type: sound

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Reviews

Reviewer: oicu812 - - October 2, 2013
Subject: Capt. Trips

man, what a cool cat garcia was. so fascinating to be able to hear him speak about so many different topics, not to mention him toking on the doobie with everyone in his hotel room. stop watever youre doing and listen to this if you have not heard it.

Reviewer: mklsgl - - March 21, 2012
Subject: Bobby Weird?

What's that about? What did Weir do OKC that was different?

Reviewer: AltheaRose - - March 17, 2012
Subject: Fascinating and Fun

What a fascinating listen this is. There's an interesting recollection on Deadnet about that evening from one of the participants in the "interview," which he says was really just an excuse to figure out how to hang with Jerry. (Apparently no one really worked for a radio station!) Incidentally, I don't think they sound like "zeroids" at all. Just young guys having an evening to remember and somehow getting it all on tape, so that years later, we can now be flies on the hotel wall. Thanks, guys -- and what a nice, generous guy Jerry could clearly be! (See http://www.dead.net/show/july-10-1981 )

Reviewer: myhungryhippo - - October 16, 2010
Subject: need more of these

this is great

Reviewer: highway320 - - April 18, 2010
Subject: Awesome :)

I love this interview, thanks for uploading it. I did the transfer of the other copy, my time copying a cassette onto my new (at the time) Marantz standalone audio burner. A labor of love, from a normal bias tape (the only copy I'd ever seen).
I always hoped someone would have an upgrade. It's a joy to hear the man, so humble & genuine & real.

Reviewer: Jorma_TunaFish - - February 16, 2008
Subject: Jerry's Kids..

Ha ha, I love this interview, I have listened to it a zillion times. Garcia, what a gracious dude to put up with these stoned zeroids. Could you imagine a 'Don Henely' (of the Eagles) allowing some dopey fans up to his hotel room for a 'hang out and get high' session? I think he invited that Yoel (sp?) from So Cal over just so he could score some Boo. If you listen really closely, you can hear the 'flick, flick, flick' of the a ligther, I wonder if Jerry was puffin' on some base, or wasn't he smoking Heroin in those days?

It's so funny to hear Jerry comment on the pot grown in Iowa, or the 'crowded airspace' over California. Lastly,I love Garcia, he was the greatest, a 'Poor Man's Picaso', god rest his soul.

Reviewer: Gardenhead - - August 7, 2007
Subject: download/liste to this now!

listening to this is exactly what i needed.

it made my day.

Reviewer: tgvas - - April 10, 2007
Subject: YEAH, disk 1 Track 9, too bad Bobby, Mickey and Bill didn't take note of that!

At least Phil is keeping to the spirit of the music as Jerry wanted.

Reviewer: Chris Freedom - - December 10, 2006
Subject: It is just a day in the life

I am glad to have the chance to hear this. I have read a few cool interviews in print but this gives you a feel for Garcia just being himself.
Personally, I think it might be a tad overwhelming sitting down and smoking up with Captain Trips but I think these guys did a good job of conveying to Garcia that the music he was making was V.I.P to them without going over the top.
Here we are lucky enough to spend some time in Garcia's world notice how gracious this man was not only to the heads who showed up, to the intervewer, but also to the folks that call him on the phone. It is a real shame that the Kindness of
Jerry Garcia did not rub off more on the scene because so many people have these high and holy attitudes that weigh about 10,000 pounds which they are trying to carry thru life, let it go, relax. If you really loved Garcia then try to share a little more of the man's good nature.
"Without LOVE in the dream, it will never come true"

Reviewer: birdsgosouth - - June 21, 2006
Subject: cheer up back left!

Chill out, brother! Those guys ask Jerry thoughtful questions about what he does (and I actually checked out a great show that one guy tells Jerry that he just listened to and loved, 5/14/78), I'd rather hear Jerry talk about the music than making him peer into his depths of his soul. Essential listening.

Reviewer: AllmanJoy88 - - June 1, 2005
Subject: jumps

i especially enjoyed the jump from playing unbroken chain live to the interior of the car he gave to some irish guy haha

Reviewer: mikeohiostate - - May 23, 2005
Subject: neat

This is neat, I love hearing Jerry talk from is heart.

Reviewer: livecactus - - May 3, 2005
Subject: This is awesome

But, it seems to be incomplete. It jumps from talking about acoustic set song selection to playing smaller/larger venues. It skips over some stuff like Jerry on taping and the addition of Brent, which I was really looking forward to hearing. Any help????

Reviewer: back left - - February 20, 2005
Subject: sweet but sad

it's sweet to hear jerry. the interview starts off with a few fairly interesting questions, but once the hangers-on arrive, it degenerates into a sad swamp of stoners with nothing thoughtful to say or ask, and jerry graciously trying to keep the conversation going while they burble about having premonitions of what he was going to play on a certain night, and irrelevancies about this show or that venue.

this is mostly a record of a missed opportunity. no one brought up how losing a finger affected jerry's playing, what music he listens to outside of rock or bluegrass, what does he think of bach, what instruments has he tried other than guitar, what books or authors he reads, how the death of band members or friends has affected him, how does he deal with wealth and fame, what influence was his father--a musician who named him for jerome kern--on his work, how could the ideals of the 60s be followed in a changing world, the place of drugs in creativity...

jerry was a very smart guy, curious and informed about many things outside of himself. he had a sharp, ironic sense of humor. yet so many of the people who latched onto him and the dead scene mistook rejection of ambitious thinking for freedom from conformity. as a result, tens of thousands of deadheads ended up as the empty burn-outs heard here.

sure, it's fun to hear jerry get high and ramble with fans, and not every conversation needs to be laced with profundities. but while this recording is sweet for the time it gives us to hang out with jerry garcia, it's also sad for the reminder it provides of the parking lot culture of so many deadheads.

Reviewer: spoonful2 - - January 17, 2005
Subject: Whoa...

This is really freaking cool. Drop everything, sit back and listen.

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