Fate Music

I work for the union

Garcia was a member of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), local no. 6 in San Francisco.

He initially applied on August 24, 1965 and was approved for membership one week later. He gave his address as 71 Miguel Street, San Francisco, claiming to have resided there for four years. He claims his occupation as music teacher. Question #29 asks “Have you played any professional engagements during the time you were not a member of the Federation, and if so, where and with whom?” Answer: no (of course).

Like a lot of creative types, Garcia was paperwork-challenged, as indicated by his very messy card.

  • Applied 8/24/85;
  • Admitted 8/31/65;
  • Dropped 4/12/66;
  • Readmitted to membership 7/16/66;
  • dropped 3/31/68;
  • Readmitted to membership 7/13/68;
  • dropped 3/31/69;
  • readmitted 4/3/70;
  • dropped 6/30/72;
  • readmitted 9/21/72;
  • suspended w/ $100 fine 3/25/74
  • dropped 9/30/74;
  • readmitted 5/12/75;
  • dropped 12/31/80
  • readmitted 3/26/81, con’t to 9/21/82
  • But: 7/27/82 letter threatening JG’s membership (I think for unpaid gig dues, not membership, paid up 8/24/82

I don’t know if he got someone to keep his paperwork together after that time (I think so) or if there were more ebbs and flows that I just wasn’t able to pin down.

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12 responses to “I work for the union”

  1. Corry342 Avatar
    Corry342

    I wonder what impelled Jerry to join, at least in earlier years? Why August 31, 1965? One suspicion would be that The Warlocks needed to be union members to play The In Room.

    I am aware that there was some deal between the American and US Musicians Union, dating back to the 1950s. I believe the deal was that an equal number of American and English musicians had to tour the opposite country. Originally this was to prevent US musicians from touring England and "taking" jobs from English musicians. This was why blues musicians toured England without their bands, and were backed by the likes of The Animals or The Yardbirds.

    However, the polarity reversed with the British Invasion, and "too many" English bands wanted to tour America. I am pretty sure that this was all ultimately settled, but I still think that an American musician couldn't get a work visa to England without being a Musicians Union member. So I think the reason for Garcia to join the Musicians Union on April 3, 1970, was in anticipation of playing England later that Summer. Notice that Jerry's membership expires at the end of the Europe '72 tour.

    Still, even if my speculations are correct, it doesn't explain the adding and dropping throughout the 60s. The Dead were very hard up for cash in those years, and whether or not joining the union was expensive, it wouldn't have been a welcome cost.

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  2. DLeopold Avatar
    DLeopold

    Could have it something to do with his ability to play and/or produce on studio sessions? He doesn't do much studio work on anything but Dead records (and not much of those in the studio) after 1982. Perhaps he didn't need it to record at Club Le Font? Of course the last two band albums were not recorded in regular studios.

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  3. Corry342 Avatar
    Corry342

    I wondered if the Union membership thing had something to do with playing on studio sessions, but the dates don't seem to track. Jerry's first session at Wally Heider's are in about May '69 (he played on "Teach Your Children" in October), and he seems to have not been a member of the Union. Garcia played in CBS studios (on Folsom) in 72-73, but at least some of that time he seems not to have been a union member (the Bromberg session was Aug 17 '72, for example).

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  4. Light Into Ashes Avatar
    Light Into Ashes

    Fascinating. There is definitely an untold story behind the dates here. And Garcia apparently was not too diligent in keeping current on his membership in the '60s!

    What was the reason for the '74 suspension?

    There are a couple early Dead interviews where they make negative comments about the musicians' union. In the Helix '69 interview Garcia & the others say that they're a bunch of goons who have nothing to do with musicians. And in the Mojo Navigator R&R '66 interview, Garcia & Weir go on an extended complaint about union practices – Garcia says it's an inconvenient, stupid hassle, and Weir gripes, "Who needs it man, it never does anything for us…and all it does is take money from us and bum kick us. And it never gets you any jobs."
    http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2013/02/august-1966-grateful-dead-interview.html

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  5. Jesse Avatar
    Jesse

    Regarding needing union membership to play at the Inn Room – are there union records for the other band members?

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  6. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    I didn't check.

    I should say that these data are not necessarily complete. There could have been a dozen ins and outs written on another card that got lost somewhere along the line. And it's also possible that this is just the random variations around a creative type who is paperwork-challenged. That's my guiding hypothesis here.

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  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    For what it's worth, my experience has been that AFM records, at least when it comes to notating what was recorded in a studio, are notoriously inaccurate. They may get the dates and session hours correct, but the musical information is often off by quite a bit.

    Reply
  8. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    "we were the Warlocks for, oh, six months or so; and during that time we played Big Al’s Gashouse and those kind of scenes, and bars, those Whiskey a Go Go kind of places, with fake IDs and all that shit – Weir was only 17, and Pigpen was 19. We had a whole hustle, we had to join the union and all that."

    http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2014/06/summer-1969-jerry-garcia-interview.html

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  9. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    Family bar was "next to the Sailor's Union of the Pacific" at 1st and Harrison (Carroll 1992).

    Reply
  10. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    Not precisely a union issue, but a labor issue: the Carousel advertised on KMPX even as it was being struck. Ca. Early May 1968, Ron Rackow [sic?] said he had to do it for the money, having "lost $50,000 over the last nine weeks because of [his] sympathy for the strikers". RR says he had the GD and JA permission to run ads on KMPX, but striker Bob McClay says he was with Jerry at the Chelsea in NYC on 5/7/68 and JG expressed surprise at the move. ! ref: Jassen 1968.

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  11. Jerry's Brokendown Palaces Avatar
    Jerry’s Brokendown Palaces

    Sailor's Union is at 450 Harrison. I think you are thinking of Ruth Garcia's bar, at 471 Harrison. On October 30, 1948, Ruth, along with Tillie Clifford, William Clifford and Dave Pollock applied for a “On Sale“ liquor license for this address.
    As seen in the 1953 Polk’s San Francisco Telephone Directory, under “Garcia” on pg. 456 and “Liquor Dealers-Retail” on pg. 2200.

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  12. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    I thought the Sailor's Union got a new building between the time Jerry was a kid and now. But I certainly could be confused!

    Reply

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