Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead
Bill Kreutzmann, Benjy Eisen
Language: English
Pages: 400
ISBN: 1250034000
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The Grateful Dead are perhaps the most legendary American rock band of all time. For thirty years, beginning in the hippie scene of San Francisco in 1965, they were a musical institution, the original jam band that broke new ground in so many ways. From the music to their live concert sound systems and fan recordings, they were forward-thinking champions of artistic control and outlaw artists who marched to the beat of their own drums.
In Deal, Bill Kreutzmann, one of their founding members and drummer for every one of their over 2,300 concerts has written an unflinching and wild account of playing in the greatest improvisational band of all time. Everything a rock music fan would expect is here, but what sets this apart is Bill's incredible life of adventure that was at the heart of the Grateful Dead experience. This was a band that knew no limits and Bill lived life to the fullest, pushing the boundaries of drugs, drums and high times, through devastating tragedy and remarkable triumph.
But at this book's beating heart is the music--theirs and others. Some of the greatest musicians and concerts were a part of the Grateful Dead's career, from sharing the stage with Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and The Who, to playing in the Acid Tests, The Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and Altamont. Bill's life is a chronicle of American music and pop culture history and his epic personal journey is one of sonic discovery and thrilling experiences.
in on different days, recorded our parts, and then split. There was no joy in it. The music on Built to Last betrays that. It’s not the sound of thick air; it’s the sound of plastic. A manufactured product. It took us the better part of a year to complete and it dropped on Halloween night 1989. Fitting for such a Frankenstein of an album. Our live shows from that era, however, were nothing to fuck with. We were named one of the top-grossing live acts in America, by people who keep track of such
imminent. Undeniable. Unavoidable. That’s my honest feeling about it. Before the December ’95 band meeting, there were rumors flying around as to who might “replace” Jerry. David Hidalgo, Carlos Santana, and so on. They were (and are) all great players, but nobody could ever replace Jerry Garcia. Let’s be honest: Nobody is the next anybody and the only way to replace someone is to imitate them and that’s not art. It’s a reenactment, nostalgia, mere bathos. Regardless, I’m not interested in being
in my living room after dinner, or around a bonfire when I have friends over, and it really makes me emotional. When I hear that music now, it transforms me and it heals me. And it redeems me. But it also makes me miss Jerry. 23 It’s an old adage that time heals all wounds, and, in the end, I suppose that’s true. But some wounds take until the end of time to heal. Or so it feels like, when those wounds are yours. By this point, I’ve built up a lot of scar tissue, and looking back, I can agree
threatened Phil at one point, seemingly for no real reason. The threat was serious. Phil was forced to retreat to the back of the pickup truck where we were all waiting for our turn to play. We felt like captives. And definitely not safe. When Crosby, Stills & Nash had the stage, we watched as Stephen Stills finished his set while bleeding, because he had been attacked. The day’s lineup was supposed to be: Santana, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the
on the handlebars as I rode along. It was fun to do that; I didn’t think anything of it. Around this time, I got totally hooked on rock ’n’ roll. I couldn’t have been more into it. There was so much to learn but I was an eager student. I started playing Ray Charles songs, like “What’d I Say.” I found out that a lot of the stuff that I liked in my playing came from Fats Domino—more of a 12/8, more of a shuffle feeling, a New Orleans feeling. That’s really my style more than straight sixteenth