**update 1: final paragraph, 8:47 Eastern 20111212**
Jerry Site administrator slipnut just updated the venue name
for a show given as
Jerry Garcia Band, California Theatre, San Diego, CA, on Friday May 23, 1986.
Handbill follows:
for a show given as
Jerry Garcia Band, California Theatre, San Diego, CA, on Friday May 23, 1986.
Handbill follows:
 |
| Handbill for Jerry Garcia Band Electric, California Theatre, San Diego, CA, 5/23/86. Possibly courtesy of Iver McLeod. |
The venue appears to be an old movie palace originally known
as the New
California Theatre, and while the handbill says “4th and C
Street”, neither the Google Street view for that location, nor for the one
given by the San Diego History Center webpage (1122
4th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101 – am I violating their terms of use by
reproducing that address?) makes it obvious to me where the theater is/was. A
Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) site (a San Diego-area British expat, I
presume) entry for the California Theatre does not give an address. The
fact that this show took place in a fabulous old movie house is awesome and I
am sure the venuologists would have a field day with this one. Perhaps I
can egg Jerry
Garcia’s Brokendown Palaces to do an entry on what looks to be a groovy,
funky old place. 😉
as the New
California Theatre, and while the handbill says “4th and C
Street”, neither the Google Street view for that location, nor for the one
given by the San Diego History Center webpage (1122
4th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101 – am I violating their terms of use by
reproducing that address?) makes it obvious to me where the theater is/was. A
Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) site (a San Diego-area British expat, I
presume) entry for the California Theatre does not give an address. The
fact that this show took place in a fabulous old movie house is awesome and I
am sure the venuologists would have a field day with this one. Perhaps I
can egg Jerry
Garcia’s Brokendown Palaces to do an entry on what looks to be a groovy,
funky old place. 😉
I am more interested in the billing, as “Jerry Garcia Band Electric”. Some small number of people knows the
importance I place on institutional formalities, such as the names of bands.
Many would dismiss these as mere trivia, and for certain purposes they might be
right. But not for my purposes. My purpose is to understand Garcia on the Side
as an institution, or a set of them. From that perspective, band names are
really important. Names in recollections; on tape boxes; in newspaper listings;
on handbills, fliers, posters, tickets; in published reviews, etc. etc. are
some of the key data. To take one macro view on how I can use them, consider
the following very simple descriptive statistic: variance across the names
listed in those eight kinds of sources (recollections, tape boxes, newspaper
listings, handbills, fliers, posters, tickets and published reviews). Hypothesis:
cross-source band name variance reduces over time. Now I know that time is not
a cause. I’d say that what this simple descriptive actually provides is one
measure of the degree of institutionalization. Time is just the simplest proxy,
for expository purposes. But if the data could be gathered—and I am not saying
they can, to my satisfaction—I think you could show a much wider standard
deviation in early years, closing almost monotonically over time. Just a hunch.
importance I place on institutional formalities, such as the names of bands.
Many would dismiss these as mere trivia, and for certain purposes they might be
right. But not for my purposes. My purpose is to understand Garcia on the Side
as an institution, or a set of them. From that perspective, band names are
really important. Names in recollections; on tape boxes; in newspaper listings;
on handbills, fliers, posters, tickets; in published reviews, etc. etc. are
some of the key data. To take one macro view on how I can use them, consider
the following very simple descriptive statistic: variance across the names
listed in those eight kinds of sources (recollections, tape boxes, newspaper
listings, handbills, fliers, posters, tickets and published reviews). Hypothesis:
cross-source band name variance reduces over time. Now I know that time is not
a cause. I’d say that what this simple descriptive actually provides is one
measure of the degree of institutionalization. Time is just the simplest proxy,
for expository purposes. But if the data could be gathered—and I am not saying
they can, to my satisfaction—I think you could show a much wider standard
deviation in early years, closing almost monotonically over time. Just a hunch.
But I digress. For two out of town (Southern California) shows in May 1986, the one I am discussing
and one on Saturday, May 24, 1986 at the Wiltern
Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90010 –Jerry’s first at the
Wiltern, I think—Garcia’s outfit was billed as “The Band Electric” by Bill
Graham. I think this has always stuck in my mind a little bit because of the clever
bit of headlining over a negative review of the May 23rd show: “Band
Electric Plays at Pace Languid” (Toombs, 1986). Toombs goes on at some length
about how dull the Band Electric is, how tedious the Band Electric’s languid
pacing, how pedestrian the Band Electric’s song selection, and so forth. Heh heh. It’s clever, and I don’t doubt it’s a totally reasonable evaluation of the show. A review in the L.A. Times of the next night’s show is only slightly more positive
(Strauss 1986), and doesn’t mention the billing, although the handbill (below)
shows it was the same.
and one on Saturday, May 24, 1986 at the Wiltern
Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90010 –Jerry’s first at the
Wiltern, I think—Garcia’s outfit was billed as “The Band Electric” by Bill
Graham. I think this has always stuck in my mind a little bit because of the clever
bit of headlining over a negative review of the May 23rd show: “Band
Electric Plays at Pace Languid” (Toombs, 1986). Toombs goes on at some length
about how dull the Band Electric is, how tedious the Band Electric’s languid
pacing, how pedestrian the Band Electric’s song selection, and so forth. Heh heh. It’s clever, and I don’t doubt it’s a totally reasonable evaluation of the show. A review in the L.A. Times of the next night’s show is only slightly more positive
(Strauss 1986), and doesn’t mention the billing, although the handbill (below)
shows it was the same.
What’s strange about this, of course, is that it prefigures
a distinction that would come about over a year later, with the
acoustic-electric shows of August-December 1987. Those would feature, first,
the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (JGAB), called by some (e.g., Jimbo Juanis of Relix) the Black Mountain Boys,
comprised of Garcia on acoustic guitar, David Nelson on guitar, Sandy Nelson on
dobro and mandolin, John Kahn on string bass, Kenny Kosek on the little fiddle
and David Kemper on the snare drums. Second, the acoustic-electric shows
featured the Jerry Garcia Band (JGB), i.e., the electric band comprised of Garcia,
Kahn, Kemper, Melvin Seals on organ, and Gloria Jones and Jacklyn LaBranch on backing
vocals.
a distinction that would come about over a year later, with the
acoustic-electric shows of August-December 1987. Those would feature, first,
the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (JGAB), called by some (e.g., Jimbo Juanis of Relix) the Black Mountain Boys,
comprised of Garcia on acoustic guitar, David Nelson on guitar, Sandy Nelson on
dobro and mandolin, John Kahn on string bass, Kenny Kosek on the little fiddle
and David Kemper on the snare drums. Second, the acoustic-electric shows
featured the Jerry Garcia Band (JGB), i.e., the electric band comprised of Garcia,
Kahn, Kemper, Melvin Seals on organ, and Gloria Jones and Jacklyn LaBranch on backing
vocals.
I don’t doubt the canonical history of the JGAB, told by inter alia Sandy Rothman,
that the thing started (quasi-publicly) with the GD’s Thanksgiving Party at the Log Cabin in San
Anselmo on 11/23/86,
when Sandy, David and a newly-hungry-to-play, post-coma Garcia sat around and regaled
the gathered party goers with some old favorites. When Garcia, Nelson and
Rothman got back together for the Artists’ Rights Today benefit at the Fillmore
on 3/18/87, the story goes, Bill Graham came in raving about taking he show to
Broadway, which is, of course, precisely what he did. Hence, the acoustic-electric
shows. For more on this, see Silberman 2010.
that the thing started (quasi-publicly) with the GD’s Thanksgiving Party at the Log Cabin in San
Anselmo on 11/23/86,
when Sandy, David and a newly-hungry-to-play, post-coma Garcia sat around and regaled
the gathered party goers with some old favorites. When Garcia, Nelson and
Rothman got back together for the Artists’ Rights Today benefit at the Fillmore
on 3/18/87, the story goes, Bill Graham came in raving about taking he show to
Broadway, which is, of course, precisely what he did. Hence, the acoustic-electric
shows. For more on this, see Silberman 2010.
But Graham’s May ’86 branding of the JGB as the Band Electric
strikes me as foreshadowing this later distinction. I am not saying he was
planning the acoustic-electric thing, per
se, though in the limit it’s possible. But I had heard that some kind of
product differentiation was important to John Scher out on the east coast,
which is what brought us the famous (or infamous) solo acoustic shows on April10, 1982 in Passaic and, eventually, the Jerry Garcia/John Kahn acoustic duo.
In short, after many years of touring as the JGB out in Scher’s territory,
mixing it up with some different product would make it easier to sell tickets.
At least that’s one thing I was told by somebody.
strikes me as foreshadowing this later distinction. I am not saying he was
planning the acoustic-electric thing, per
se, though in the limit it’s possible. But I had heard that some kind of
product differentiation was important to John Scher out on the east coast,
which is what brought us the famous (or infamous) solo acoustic shows on April10, 1982 in Passaic and, eventually, the Jerry Garcia/John Kahn acoustic duo.
In short, after many years of touring as the JGB out in Scher’s territory,
mixing it up with some different product would make it easier to sell tickets.
At least that’s one thing I was told by somebody.
I wonder if Graham was after the same thing, i.e., some
product differentiation, so he could sell separate acoustic and electric Garcia
experiences to the SoCal audience? It would put a slightly different context on
the canonical history of the JGAB, if so, making it seem a less spontaneous and
a more cultivated Bill Graham strategy. There’s nothing wrong with that, of
course, but I have always had the notion that these “Band Electric” billings
earlier in ’86 were anachronistic unless we viewed them in this way, as trial
balloons around a Graham marketing strategy that had to be put on hold a few
months later when Jerry got sick, and really only took shape with the
inspiration of the March 18 ART benefit. Again, I want to be clear: I don’t
think this sullies the wonderful little history of the JGAB one bit, just puts
it into a slightly longer causal chain.
product differentiation, so he could sell separate acoustic and electric Garcia
experiences to the SoCal audience? It would put a slightly different context on
the canonical history of the JGAB, if so, making it seem a less spontaneous and
a more cultivated Bill Graham strategy. There’s nothing wrong with that, of
course, but I have always had the notion that these “Band Electric” billings
earlier in ’86 were anachronistic unless we viewed them in this way, as trial
balloons around a Graham marketing strategy that had to be put on hold a few
months later when Jerry got sick, and really only took shape with the
inspiration of the March 18 ART benefit. Again, I want to be clear: I don’t
think this sullies the wonderful little history of the JGAB one bit, just puts
it into a slightly longer causal chain.
The rival (really, probably complementary) hypothesis is
that Wolfgang was after some product differentiation, but only because of the
clusterfuck from Garcia’s previous (non-GD) visit to SoCal, with John Kahn at
the Beverly
Theatre, 9404
Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90212, on May 31, 1985. As related at the
JB’s entry for
the early show, Graham et al.
sold this night’s entertainment as two separately-ticketed (i.e., early and
late) shows, rather than the two-set single show that Garcia would typically
put on. Folks felt ripped off. According to Ben Kamelich (cited at TJS), one
attendee brought a sign reading “Jerry Sells Out L.A. Deadheads”. Erik
VanO recounts that the crowd started up with a “Bullshit! Bullshit!” chant when
Jerry announced that the show was over. And why not, after only six songs
running a paltry 35 minutes? Apparently Angry Jerry came out for a three-song “second
set” just to prevent a riot (or, knowing Deadheads, some hooting, jeering and reproachful looks).
that Wolfgang was after some product differentiation, but only because of the
clusterfuck from Garcia’s previous (non-GD) visit to SoCal, with John Kahn at
the Beverly
Theatre, 9404
Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90212, on May 31, 1985. As related at the
JB’s entry for
the early show, Graham et al.
sold this night’s entertainment as two separately-ticketed (i.e., early and
late) shows, rather than the two-set single show that Garcia would typically
put on. Folks felt ripped off. According to Ben Kamelich (cited at TJS), one
attendee brought a sign reading “Jerry Sells Out L.A. Deadheads”. Erik
VanO recounts that the crowd started up with a “Bullshit! Bullshit!” chant when
Jerry announced that the show was over. And why not, after only six songs
running a paltry 35 minutes? Apparently Angry Jerry came out for a three-song “second
set” just to prevent a riot (or, knowing Deadheads, some hooting, jeering and reproachful looks).
Leaving aside the big question of how such a talented,
usually professional (really!) and prideful man could act this way –and, while
big, it’s easily answered with a word that starts with ‘d’ and ends with ‘rugs’,
I think—it might have been simple good business sense for Graham to signal to
the ticket-buying crowd that this was not going to be a Garcia-Kahn acoustic
nodfest, but rather the Band Electric. The Toombs review of May 23 and the
Strauss review of the LA show on May 24 suggest that the musical results were
far from electrifying, but that has to be the subject of some listening notes.
The commercial results, by contrast, seemed to have worked out just fine – not a
sellout, but not a bad day at the office, either:
usually professional (really!) and prideful man could act this way –and, while
big, it’s easily answered with a word that starts with ‘d’ and ends with ‘rugs’,
I think—it might have been simple good business sense for Graham to signal to
the ticket-buying crowd that this was not going to be a Garcia-Kahn acoustic
nodfest, but rather the Band Electric. The Toombs review of May 23 and the
Strauss review of the LA show on May 24 suggest that the musical results were
far from electrifying, but that has to be the subject of some listening notes.
The commercial results, by contrast, seemed to have worked out just fine – not a
sellout, but not a bad day at the office, either:
The fact that there were newspaper reviews (including, not trivially, the Los Angeles Times), the fact that it grossed pretty well and got this mention in Billboard … the notion that Bill was also courting Jerry on his home turf, getting him to switch his local playing allegiance from Freddie Herrera and the Stone to Bill Graham and the Warfield (which would be accomplished by June 1, 1987) … the new billing (what we’d now call an attempt to “rebrand” or maybe “reposition”, right?) …. it all seems to suggest to me that the JGAB didn’t emerge fully formed from Bill Graham’s head, like Athena from Zeus’s, on March 18, 1987. And the acoustic-electric structure would seem, at least, to have been a gleam in Bill Graham’s eye before the coma … much for me to chew on.
One last proposition: The JGAB contains the arc of Garcia On The Side (GOTS) in very concentrated dosage, something I hope further to unpack moving forward.
REFERENCES:
Silberman, Steve. 2010. The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, The
Definitive History: It’s a Long, Long Way to the Top of the World. Essay
accompanying Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, Jerry
Garcia Acoustic Band [Almost Acoustic
and Ragged But Right] (Rhino,
JGCD-1004), 11 pp.
Definitive History: It’s a Long, Long Way to the Top of the World. Essay
accompanying Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, Jerry
Garcia Acoustic Band [Almost Acoustic
and Ragged But Right] (Rhino,
JGCD-1004), 11 pp.
Strauss, Duncan.
1986. Garcia Shorts Out. Los
Angeles Times, May 26, 1986, p. SD_D2.
1986. Garcia Shorts Out. Los
Angeles Times, May 26, 1986, p. SD_D2.
Toombs, Mikel. 1986. Band Electric Plays at a Pace Languid. San
Diego Union, May 24,
1986, p. D11.
Diego Union, May 24,
1986, p. D11.
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