Category: 1966

  • GD at Freeborn Hall: Friday, October 28, 1966

    This is out of my wheelhouse, but since it brings together two loose ends for me I thought I’d post it here. The Sacramento Bee of 10/23/66 p. W14 has a piece on upcoming homecoming events at Cal Aggie, i.e., UC Davis. The Grateful Dead are scheduled to play Freeborn Hall Friday 10/28/66, Yellow Brick…

  • Jerry Garcia playing bass behind Lightnin’ Hopkins: Fillmore Aud, 10/23/66

    In the Fillmore Poster Appreciation Society group page on Facebook, eyewitness comments under the poster for the Bill Graham shows on the weekend of 10/21-23-/66 indicate that Jerry Garcia played bass behind Lightnin’ Hopkins. I don’t think I knew that. Did you? This would be Jerry’s third non-GD performance within a week: 10/16/66 sit-in with…

  • Northridge Acid Test

    What is the state of our knowledge on February 1966 acid test at a Unitarian Church in Northridge, CA? I still show a gig 2/6/66 at “Northridge Unitarian Church”, no notes or references. And I also show a gig 2/19 at Valley Unitarian Universalist Church on 2/19. Maybe we have  been discussing somewhere? Seems like…

  • UCLA Acid Test (CXL)

    ! ad: Daily Bruin, March 16, 1966, p. 2. Preface Suggested audio accompaniment for this post: http://tinyurl.com/hthnmgb, especially 30 minutes in when Ken Babbs is just raving, and things are just WILD. The UCLA Daily Bruin has been digitized, and is accessible via the Daily Bruin Print Archive at http://samhoff.github.io/archive/. The access is rather cumbersome,…

  • Lurid Nightclub Atmosphere

    https://archive.org/details/gd66-12-01.sbd.sirmick.26968.sbeok.shnf Garcia, after Minglewood: Welcome to another evening of confusion and high frequency stimulation. And, Sucrets, cold beer on tap, lurid nightclub atmosphere, and Beatniks … more Beatniks than you can count on two hands.

  • Elves, Gnomes, Leprechauns and Little People’s Chowder and Marching Society Volunteer Fire Brigade and Ladies Auxiliary String Band

    I cannot make any representation for the accuracy of any of this. It’s a fascinating piece, of course. Dister was a famous French rock journalist (wiki) who spent ca. 1966-early 1968 in San Francisco, apparently spending a ton of time with the Dead, if the narratives are to be believed. I am sure it is…

  • GD in Walnut Creek; East Bay Psychedelic Scene?

    Can anyone anywhere add anything about these three Grateful Dead shows in Walnut Creek, CA? Little is known about the first, and next-to-nothing about the second two. **update 20150905: the 1968 shows have been demystified** 1. Grateful Dead, Sunday, October 23, 1966: Gymnasium, Las Lomas High School, 1460 South Main Street,Walnut Creek, CA 94596-5383. Deadlists:…

  • Garcia on Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow

    Was just pointed to this early 1967 interview (audio only) with Garcia posted at youtube. Not sure I had heard it before, but I think it contains a tidbit or two that are not pinned down yet regarding Garcia’s contributions to the Jefferson Airplane blockbuster Surrealistic Pillow. So this is sort of of a piece…

  • 1966: Darby Slick et al. “Jammin’ With Garcia”

    Chapter 5 of Darby Slick’s autobiography, I guess (1), is entitled “Jammin’ With Garcia” and recounts a Friday evening jam session, ca. 1966, in the Mission District. These one-offs are inherently interesting, of course, but especially interesting to me is the question of how often they occurred. I had always bought into the mythology that…

  • The New Peanut Butter Sandwich: October 16, 1966, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA

    Having just posted about Garcia’s October 1966 sit-in with Big Brother and the Holding Company, I’ll follow on with what is even more interesting-sounding (though it apparently didn’t come off that well). Mojo Navigator R&R News no. 9 (October 17, 1966) gives a brief account of the evening, which apparently included a configuration (“One Night…