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REVIEW FORUM
Just got back from a DSO show and got some energy to burn? Why not let the rest of us know what you thought?
Subject: RE: A few thoughts


Author:
Bootsy
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 22:14:28 08/25/05 Thu
As I write this response to Rob's reply I'm enjoying a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream, it sooths me like the violin soothed the monster. Just kidding, but it is really really good. I suggest you get some before reading this. Chocolate, Marshmellows and Almonds Oh My!

Rob, I want to thank you once again for chiming in and I respect you for doing so. It takes guts and shows you are a decent guy. However, I don't agree with everything you've had to say and I'd like a chance to address your remarks if I may.

First I'd like you and everyone else to know that I have had and still have dialogue via email with some people that are big fans of yours and although we see things differently we have managed to find a common ground where we can passionately disagree, yet still see where each other are coming from and even helped each other see things in a different light. Why is that so hard for everyone else? I won't name their names as I would not want them to be alienated or shunned for associating themselves with such an evil, hateful sociopath such as myself. But I think if you asked them about me, they'd have some nice things to say. With that said...

"What
>bootsy doesn't get is that DSO does NOT COPY any show
>in any way. The concept of playing "shows" for us is
>mearly a set list. It would be against everything the
>music is meant to be if it were "copied" as boosty
>suggests. The beauty of the music is that it's based
>around improvisation. The heart and soul of the music
>is the freedom to play it as you feel at that moment.
>If it's forced or planned it fails. We play the music
>from our hearts not from our heads."

I myself did not hear the improv. It sounded to me like you guys were playing a show that you picked out and there are many others that feel the same way. If you say it ain't so I'll believe you. But why then do you even bother telling people what show it was afterwards? Forgive me for being so blunt, but as far as I'm concerned it is planned and does fail. That being said I do believe that you guys play from the heart and are talented musicians and I have said thir previously.

"We don't try to look, sound, act like the Dead it's just how it is.>Every show is different from the next."

Sorry Rob, but check out your own web site, particularly under the photos and bios of the band. They put the person you are supposed to be in parentheses after your own names with a picture of you guys. But it appears you guys changed that since I first posted. Anyway, John's photo is him with a famous Garcia facial expression. Am I wrong? Maybe you're right, maybe it is just how it is, but then why bother naming the band member you are supposed to be portraying on your own website with a bio about how you studied Bobby for years? Or a photo of you looking like that person?

"Another thing
>about the Dead that many forget is that half of their
>material were cover songs from other artists. Some of
>our favorites Morning Dew, Going Down The Road, I Know
>You Rider etc were all covers."

I'm very aware of this and actually mentioned it in several of my posts followed by saying that I'd like to hear you guys play those covers your own way, because you guys can play. If you look you will see these comments over and over. Also, I'd like to point out that the boys played covers the way they played, not copying the tune, they made a cover theirs in a way by playing it the way they played. I think you guys should do the same. They covered them for a reason. They're great songs. Also, I'm probably wrong, but I thought Dew was actually a poem that Garcia put music to, but now that I think of it, yes the woman that wrote it also sang it I think.

"Each
>night we get to explore the music and take it
>different places. The jazz community has been covering
>each others songs for decades. It's a priviladge to be
>able to play this music."

You're right and again, the Jazz community, of which I'm very, very familiar does play covers of even their contemporaries, but each musician or ensemble does it with their own interpretation as the boys did. That's what makes it special. Would love to hear you guys do the same. I love hitting a small jazz club in Manahattan and seeing a bunch of guys that are not the big dogs shredding a Stella By Starlight or a Cantaloupe Island or a Mingus tune and hearing them do it the way THEY do it. A friend said it best right here in one of these reviews, I'm paraphrasing. You guys have the talent and you play so well, you're playing fantastic music that has so many improvisational possibilities, why not open the door and step out into them.

"The thing that Bootsy doesn't
>get is that being a Dead Head is a way of life, a way
>of thinking. The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!
>Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Dude you have no more right to tell these people or me what a Dead Head is than I do. I was man enough to admit it. Now can you? I know exactly what it is to be a Dead Head, because I live my lide each and every day as one. Without having to posture myself as one or scream it fromt he roof tops. Besides you could ask 1,000 different Dead Heads what a Dead Head is and you'd probably get 975 different answers and I would expect you to know that. I even said in a few posts that I'm sure you guys are true Dead Heads. You don't know me or who I am. For all you know we hung out at a show or two and had some laughs together or bumped into each other in the parking lot from time to time.

"The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!"

One of your fans I've been emailing with said it best about this very topic...Me: "I tried to use a little tough love and I guess it back fired. God how many times did I
have the older tour heads go off on me about shit when I was on tour?"

DSO Fan: "This is probably related to the all-too-common occurance of email not really capturing the exact emotional inflection of its writer and the reader over-reading it."

I want EVERYONE to be a Dead Head, imagine what a world it would truly, truly be. All I want is for them to get into it for the right reasons and learn about how and why it happened and continues. Not just to rush to see a coverband portraying the real thing and pretend that you are there. Most of the people at the show I saw were under 30 years old and it was evident that they were there for the wrong reasons. I used the Mexicali thing as an example. Maybe it was wrong. Probably was. I would not have wanted someone to do that to me at a show back in the day. But maybe that kid will listen to the music now and learn about it instead of worrying more about his clothes and whether or not he's pulling the correct dance moves. Sorry, there goes that tough love thing again. I dived headfirst into the Grateful Dead community at 17 and met a lot of cool people that brought me along. I have brought many people along and still do. I just want them to love it for the right reasons. And I personally don't think what you are doing is right and I'm not the only Dead Head that thinks so bro. Sorry if you thought differently.

"Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Kind of an arrogant statement. Don't you think? Not that many of mine have not been. If they don't get what the DSO is doing then they don't get it? Or don't get what the Dead was doing? We're kind of singing the same tune on different street corners. Guess we're both throwing stones. No Grateful Dead pun intended.

"When the old Grateful Dead family come out to
>see us (Kidd, Betty, Mountain Girl, Donna Jean, Harry
>Popick the list goes on) that's our biggest jury. They
>continue to come out because the feeling is the same
>and they would know certainly more so then Bootsy."

True I guess they would not more about that than me. However I've already stated several times why they do and I'm not going to drag the Family through the mud. I've met a lot of them over the years and most were very decent people. I've said what I have to say about this.

"Imagine if nobody ever played other artists music
>after the original stopped? What a sad thing that
>would be! Peace"

Never said that nobody should. Just think each person should interpret it in their own way. You can think what you want of me Rob, but I am a very creative person and I'm seriously anti-establishment and always have been. I live in the man's world as little as possible and make my own way. I've found a way to use my creativity and many of the lessons I learned from being a Dead Head in my life every day. Not all of my ideas are original, but if I don't put my own spin on them or allow my creativity to flow into them, I'm not creating, I'm just recreating. Peace man. Seriously. Bootsy has TONS O LOVE for all of you and all that know me, know that.
Replies:
Subject: Reply to Rob


Author:
Bootsy
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 00:39:29 08/26/05 Fri
As I write this response to Rob's reply I'm enjoying a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream, it sooths me like the violin soothed the monster. Just kidding, but it is really really good. I suggest you get some before reading this. Chocolate, Marshmellows and Almonds Oh My!

Rob, I want to thank you once again for chiming in and I respect you for doing so. It takes guts and shows you are a decent guy. However, I don't agree with everything you've had to say and I'd like a chance to address your remarks if I may.

First I'd like you and everyone else to know that I have had and still have dialogue via email with some people that are big fans of yours and although we see things differently we have managed to find a common ground where we can passionately disagree, yet still see where each other are coming from and even helped each other see things in a different light. Why is that so hard for everyone else? I won't name their names as I would not want them to be alienated or shunned for associating themselves with such an evil, hateful sociopath such as myself. But I think if you asked them about me, they'd have some nice things to say. With that said...

"What
>bootsy doesn't get is that DSO does NOT COPY any show
>in any way. The concept of playing "shows" for us is
>mearly a set list. It would be against everything the
>music is meant to be if it were "copied" as boosty
>suggests. The beauty of the music is that it's based
>around improvisation. The heart and soul of the music
>is the freedom to play it as you feel at that moment.
>If it's forced or planned it fails. We play the music
>from our hearts not from our heads."

I myself did not hear the improv. It sounded to me like you guys were playing a show that you picked out and there are many others that feel the same way. If you say it ain't so I'll believe you. But why then do you even bother telling people what show it was afterwards? Forgive me for being so blunt, but as far as I'm concerned it is planned and does fail. That being said I do believe that you guys play from the heart and are talented musicians and I have said thir previously.

"We don't try to look, sound, act like the Dead it's just how it is.>Every show is different from the next."

Sorry Rob, but check out your own web site, particularly under the photos and bios of the band. They put the person you are supposed to be in parentheses after your own names with a picture of you guys. But it appears you guys changed that since I first posted. Anyway, John's photo is him with a famous Garcia facial expression. Am I wrong? Maybe you're right, maybe it is just how it is, but then why bother naming the band member you are supposed to be portraying on your own website with a bio about how you studied Bobby for years? Or a photo of you looking like that person?

"Another thing
>about the Dead that many forget is that half of their
>material were cover songs from other artists. Some of
>our favorites Morning Dew, Going Down The Road, I Know
>You Rider etc were all covers."

I'm very aware of this and actually mentioned it in several of my posts followed by saying that I'd like to hear you guys play those covers your own way, because you guys can play. If you look you will see these comments over and over. Also, I'd like to point out that the boys played covers the way they played, not copying the tune, they made a cover theirs in a way by playing it the way they played. I think you guys should do the same. They covered them for a reason. They're great songs. Also, I'm probably wrong, but I thought Dew was actually a poem that Garcia put music to, but now that I think of it, yes the woman that wrote it also sang it I think.

"Each
>night we get to explore the music and take it
>different places. The jazz community has been covering
>each others songs for decades. It's a priviladge to be
>able to play this music."

You're right and again, the Jazz community, of which I'm very, very familiar does play covers of even their contemporaries, but each musician or ensemble does it with their own interpretation as the boys did. That's what makes it special. Would love to hear you guys do the same. I love hitting a small jazz club in Manahattan and seeing a bunch of guys that are not the big dogs shredding a Stella By Starlight or a Cantaloupe Island or a Mingus tune and hearing them do it the way THEY do it. A friend said it best right here in one of these reviews, I'm paraphrasing. You guys have the talent and you play so well, you're playing fantastic music that has so many improvisational possibilities, why not open the door and step out into them.

"The thing that Bootsy doesn't
>get is that being a Dead Head is a way of life, a way
>of thinking. The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!
>Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Dude you have no more right to tell these people or me what a Dead Head is than I do. I was man enough to admit it. Now can you? I know exactly what it is to be a Dead Head, because I live my lide each and every day as one. Without having to posture myself as one or scream it fromt he roof tops. Besides you could ask 1,000 different Dead Heads what a Dead Head is and you'd probably get 975 different answers and I would expect you to know that. I even said in a few posts that I'm sure you guys are true Dead Heads. You don't know me or who I am. For all you know we hung out at a show or two and had some laughs together or bumped into each other in the parking lot from time to time.

"The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!"

One of your fans I've been emailing with said it best about this very topic...Me: "I tried to use a little tough love and I guess it back fired. God how many times did I
have the older tour heads go off on me about shit when I was on tour?"

DSO Fan: "This is probably related to the all-too-common occurance of email not really capturing the exact emotional inflection of its writer and the reader over-reading it."

I want EVERYONE to be a Dead Head, imagine what a world it would truly, truly be. All I want is for them to get into it for the right reasons and learn about how and why it happened and continues. Not just to rush to see a coverband portraying the real thing and pretend that you are there. Most of the people at the show I saw were under 30 years old and it was evident that they were there for the wrong reasons. I used the Mexicali thing as an example. Maybe it was wrong. Probably was. I would not have wanted someone to do that to me at a show back in the day. But maybe that kid will listen to the music now and learn about it instead of worrying more about his clothes and whether or not he's pulling the correct dance moves. Sorry, there goes that tough love thing again. I dived headfirst into the Grateful Dead community at 17 and met a lot of cool people that brought me along. I have brought many people along and still do. I just want them to love it for the right reasons. And I personally don't think what you are doing is right and I'm not the only Dead Head that thinks so bro. Sorry if you thought differently.

"Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Kind of an arrogant statement. Don't you think? Not that many of mine have not been. If they don't get what the DSO is doing then they don't get it? Or don't get what the Dead was doing? We're kind of singing the same tune on different street corners. Guess we're both throwing stones. No Grateful Dead pun intended.

"When the old Grateful Dead family come out to
>see us (Kidd, Betty, Mountain Girl, Donna Jean, Harry
>Popick the list goes on) that's our biggest jury. They
>continue to come out because the feeling is the same
>and they would know certainly more so then Bootsy."

True I guess they would not more about that than me. However I've already stated several times why they do and I'm not going to drag the Family through the mud. I've met a lot of them over the years and most were very decent people. I've said what I have to say about this.

"Imagine if nobody ever played other artists music
>after the original stopped? What a sad thing that
>would be! Peace"

Never said that nobody should. Just think each person should interpret it in their own way. You can think what you want of me Rob, but I am a very creative person and I'm seriously anti-establishment and always have been. I live in the man's world as little as possible and make my own way. I've found a way to use my creativity and many of the lessons I learned from being a Dead Head in my life every day. Not all of my ideas are original, but if I don't put my own spin on them or allow my creativity to flow into them, I'm not creating, I'm just recreating. Peace man. Seriously. Bootsy has TONS O LOVE for all of you and all that know me, know that
Subject: RE: Afew thoughts


Author:
Bootsy
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 00:31:28 08/26/05 Fri
As I write this response to Rob's reply I'm enjoying a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream, it sooths me like the violin soothed the monster. Just kidding, but it is really really good. I suggest you get some before reading this. Chocolate, Marshmellows and Almonds Oh My!

Rob, I want to thank you once again for chiming in and I respect you for doing so. It takes guts and shows you are a decent guy. However, I don't agree with everything you've had to say and I'd like a chance to address your remarks if I may.

First I'd like you and everyone else to know that I have had and still have dialogue via email with some people that are big fans of yours and although we see things differently we have managed to find a common ground where we can passionately disagree, yet still see where each other are coming from and even helped each other see things in a different light. Why is that so hard for everyone else? I won't name their names as I would not want them to be alienated or shunned for associating themselves with such an evil, hateful sociopath such as myself. But I think if you asked them about me, they'd have some nice things to say. With that said...

"What
>bootsy doesn't get is that DSO does NOT COPY any show
>in any way. The concept of playing "shows" for us is
>mearly a set list. It would be against everything the
>music is meant to be if it were "copied" as boosty
>suggests. The beauty of the music is that it's based
>around improvisation. The heart and soul of the music
>is the freedom to play it as you feel at that moment.
>If it's forced or planned it fails. We play the music
>from our hearts not from our heads."

I myself did not hear the improv. It sounded to me like you guys were playing a show that you picked out and there are many others that feel the same way. If you say it ain't so I'll believe you. But why then do you even bother telling people what show it was afterwards? Forgive me for being so blunt, but as far as I'm concerned it is planned and does fail. That being said I do believe that you guys play from the heart and are talented musicians and I have said thir previously.

"We don't try to look, sound, act like the Dead it's just how it is.>Every show is different from the next."

Sorry Rob, but check out your own web site, particularly under the photos and bios of the band. They put the person you are supposed to be in parentheses after your own names with a picture of you guys. But it appears you guys changed that since I first posted. Anyway, John's photo is him with a famous Garcia facial expression. Am I wrong? Maybe you're right, maybe it is just how it is, but then why bother naming the band member you are supposed to be portraying on your own website with a bio about how you studied Bobby for years? Or a photo of you looking like that person?

"Another thing
>about the Dead that many forget is that half of their
>material were cover songs from other artists. Some of
>our favorites Morning Dew, Going Down The Road, I Know
>You Rider etc were all covers."

I'm very aware of this and actually mentioned it in several of my posts followed by saying that I'd like to hear you guys play those covers your own way, because you guys can play. If you look you will see these comments over and over. Also, I'd like to point out that the boys played covers the way they played, not copying the tune, they made a cover theirs in a way by playing it the way they played. I think you guys should do the same. They covered them for a reason. They're great songs. Also, I'm probably wrong, but I thought Dew was actually a poem that Garcia put music to, but now that I think of it, yes the woman that wrote it also sang it I think.

"Each
>night we get to explore the music and take it
>different places. The jazz community has been covering
>each others songs for decades. It's a priviladge to be
>able to play this music."

You're right and again, the Jazz community, of which I'm very, very familiar does play covers of even their contemporaries, but each musician or ensemble does it with their own interpretation as the boys did. That's what makes it special. Would love to hear you guys do the same. I love hitting a small jazz club in Manahattan and seeing a bunch of guys that are not the big dogs shredding a Stella By Starlight or a Cantaloupe Island or a Mingus tune and hearing them do it the way THEY do it. A friend said it best right here in one of these reviews, I'm paraphrasing. You guys have the talent and you play so well, you're playing fantastic music that has so many improvisational possibilities, why not open the door and step out into them.

"The thing that Bootsy doesn't
>get is that being a Dead Head is a way of life, a way
>of thinking. The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!
>Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Dude you have no more right to tell these people or me what a Dead Head is than I do. I was man enough to admit it. Now can you? I know exactly what it is to be a Dead Head, because I live my lide each and every day as one. Without having to posture myself as one or scream it fromt he roof tops. Besides you could ask 1,000 different Dead Heads what a Dead Head is and you'd probably get 975 different answers and I would expect you to know that. I even said in a few posts that I'm sure you guys are true Dead Heads. You don't know me or who I am. For all you know we hung out at a show or two and had some laughs together or bumped into each other in the parking lot from time to time.

"The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!"

One of your fans I've been emailing with said it best about this very topic...Me: "I tried to use a little tough love and I guess it back fired. God how many times did I
have the older tour heads go off on me about shit when I was on tour?"

DSO Fan: "This is probably related to the all-too-common occurance of email not really capturing the exact emotional inflection of its writer and the reader over-reading it."

I want EVERYONE to be a Dead Head, imagine what a world it would truly, truly be. All I want is for them to get into it for the right reasons and learn about how and why it happened and continues. Not just to rush to see a coverband portraying the real thing and pretend that you are there. Most of the people at the show I saw were under 30 years old and it was evident that they were there for the wrong reasons. I used the Mexicali thing as an example. Maybe it was wrong. Probably was. I would not have wanted someone to do that to me at a show back in the day. But maybe that kid will listen to the music now and learn about it instead of worrying more about his clothes and whether or not he's pulling the correct dance moves. Sorry, there goes that tough love thing again. I dived headfirst into the Grateful Dead community at 17 and met a lot of cool people that brought me along. I have brought many people along and still do. I just want them to love it for the right reasons. And I personally don't think what you are doing is right and I'm not the only Dead Head that thinks so bro. Sorry if you thought differently.

"Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Kind of an arrogant statement. Don't you think? Not that many of mine have not been. If they don't get what the DSO is doing then they don't get it? Or don't get what the Dead was doing? We're kind of singing the same tune on different street corners. Guess we're both throwing stones. No Grateful Dead pun intended.

"When the old Grateful Dead family come out to
>see us (Kidd, Betty, Mountain Girl, Donna Jean, Harry
>Popick the list goes on) that's our biggest jury. They
>continue to come out because the feeling is the same
>and they would know certainly more so then Bootsy."

True I guess they would not more about that than me. However I've already stated several times why they do and I'm not going to drag the Family through the mud. I've met a lot of them over the years and most were very decent people. I've said what I have to say about this.

"Imagine if nobody ever played other artists music
>after the original stopped? What a sad thing that
>would be! Peace"

Never said that nobody should. Just think each person should interpret it in their own way. You can think what you want of me Rob, but I am a very creative person and I'm seriously anti-establishment and always have been. I live in the man's world as little as possible and make my own way. I've found a way to use my creativity and many of the lessons I learned from being a Dead Head in my life every day. Not all of my ideas are original, but if I don't put my own spin on them or allow my creativity to flow into them, I'm not creating, I'm just recreating. Peace man. Seriously. Bootsy has TONS O LOVE for all of you and all that know me, know that
Subject: RE: A few thoughts


Author:
Bootsy
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 23:02:48 08/25/05 Thu
As I write this response to Rob's reply I'm enjoying a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream, it sooths me like the violin soothed the monster. Just kidding, but it is really really good. I suggest you get some before reading this. Chocolate, Marshmellows and Almonds Oh My!

Rob, I want to thank you once again for chiming in and I respect you for doing so. It takes guts and shows you are a decent guy. However, I don't agree with everything you've had to say and I'd like a chance to address your remarks if I may.

First I'd like you and everyone else to know that I have had and still have dialogue via email with some people that are big fans of yours and although we see things differently we have managed to find a common ground where we can passionately disagree, yet still see where each other are coming from and even helped each other see things in a different light. Why is that so hard for everyone else? I won't name their names as I would not want them to be alienated or shunned for associating themselves with such an evil, hateful sociopath such as myself. But I think if you asked them about me, they'd have some nice things to say. With that said...

"What
>bootsy doesn't get is that DSO does NOT COPY any show
>in any way. The concept of playing "shows" for us is
>mearly a set list. It would be against everything the
>music is meant to be if it were "copied" as boosty
>suggests. The beauty of the music is that it's based
>around improvisation. The heart and soul of the music
>is the freedom to play it as you feel at that moment.
>If it's forced or planned it fails. We play the music
>from our hearts not from our heads."

I myself did not hear the improv. It sounded to me like you guys were playing a show that you picked out and there are many others that feel the same way. If you say it ain't so I'll believe you. But why then do you even bother telling people what show it was afterwards? Forgive me for being so blunt, but as far as I'm concerned it is planned and does fail. That being said I do believe that you guys play from the heart and are talented musicians and I have said thir previously.

"We don't try to look, sound, act like the Dead it's just how it is.>Every show is different from the next."

Sorry Rob, but check out your own web site, particularly under the photos and bios of the band. They put the person you are supposed to be in parentheses after your own names with a picture of you guys. But it appears you guys changed that since I first posted. Anyway, John's photo is him with a famous Garcia facial expression. Am I wrong? Maybe you're right, maybe it is just how it is, but then why bother naming the band member you are supposed to be portraying on your own website with a bio about how you studied Bobby for years? Or a photo of you looking like that person?

"Another thing
>about the Dead that many forget is that half of their
>material were cover songs from other artists. Some of
>our favorites Morning Dew, Going Down The Road, I Know
>You Rider etc were all covers."

I'm very aware of this and actually mentioned it in several of my posts followed by saying that I'd like to hear you guys play those covers your own way, because you guys can play. If you look you will see these comments over and over. Also, I'd like to point out that the boys played covers the way they played, not copying the tune, they made a cover theirs in a way by playing it the way they played. I think you guys should do the same. They covered them for a reason. They're great songs. Also, I'm probably wrong, but I thought Dew was actually a poem that Garcia put music to, but now that I think of it, yes the woman that wrote it also sang it I think.

"Each
>night we get to explore the music and take it
>different places. The jazz community has been covering
>each others songs for decades. It's a priviladge to be
>able to play this music."

You're right and again, the Jazz community, of which I'm very, very familiar does play covers of even their contemporaries, but each musician or ensemble does it with their own interpretation as the boys did. That's what makes it special. Would love to hear you guys do the same. I love hitting a small jazz club in Manahattan and seeing a bunch of guys that are not the big dogs shredding a Stella By Starlight or a Cantaloupe Island or a Mingus tune and hearing them do it the way THEY do it. A friend said it best right here in one of these reviews, I'm paraphrasing. You guys have the talent and you play so well, you're playing fantastic music that has so many improvisational possibilities, why not open the door and step out into them.

"The thing that Bootsy doesn't
>get is that being a Dead Head is a way of life, a way
>of thinking. The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!
>Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Dude you have no more right to tell these people or me what a Dead Head is than I do. I was man enough to admit it. Now can you? I know exactly what it is to be a Dead Head, because I live my lide each and every day as one. Without having to posture myself as one or scream it fromt he roof tops. Besides you could ask 1,000 different Dead Heads what a Dead Head is and you'd probably get 975 different answers and I would expect you to know that. I even said in a few posts that I'm sure you guys are true Dead Heads. You don't know me or who I am. For all you know we hung out at a show or two and had some laughs together or bumped into each other in the parking lot from time to time.

"The music was just one part of it the
>other part was and is the people. The beauty is when
>it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title
>if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important!"

One of your fans I've been emailing with said it best about this very topic...Me: "I tried to use a little tough love and I guess it back fired. God how many times did I
have the older tour heads go off on me about shit when I was on tour?"

DSO Fan: "This is probably related to the all-too-common occurance of email not really capturing the exact emotional inflection of its writer and the reader over-reading it."

I want EVERYONE to be a Dead Head, imagine what a world it would truly, truly be. All I want is for them to get into it for the right reasons and learn about how and why it happened and continues. Not just to rush to see a coverband portraying the real thing and pretend that you are there. Most of the people at the show I saw were under 30 years old and it was evident that they were there for the wrong reasons. I used the Mexicali thing as an example. Maybe it was wrong. Probably was. I would not have wanted someone to do that to me at a show back in the day. But maybe that kid will listen to the music now and learn about it instead of worrying more about his clothes and whether or not he's pulling the correct dance moves. Sorry, there goes that tough love thing again. I dived headfirst into the Grateful Dead community at 17 and met a lot of cool people that brought me along. I have brought many people along and still do. I just want them to love it for the right reasons. And I personally don't think what you are doing is right and I'm not the only Dead Head that thinks so bro. Sorry if you thought differently.

"Those open enough get it and will continue to come
>back the others will miss it but that's also a part of
>life."

Kind of an arrogant statement. Don't you think? Not that many of mine have not been. If they don't get what the DSO is doing then they don't get it? Or don't get what the Dead was doing? We're kind of singing the same tune on different street corners. Guess we're both throwing stones. No Grateful Dead pun intended.

"When the old Grateful Dead family come out to
>see us (Kidd, Betty, Mountain Girl, Donna Jean, Harry
>Popick the list goes on) that's our biggest jury. They
>continue to come out because the feeling is the same
>and they would know certainly more so then Bootsy."

True I guess they would not more about that than me. However I've already stated several times why they do and I'm not going to drag the Family through the mud. I've met a lot of them over the years and most were very decent people. I've said what I have to say about this.

"Imagine if nobody ever played other artists music
>after the original stopped? What a sad thing that
>would be! Peace"

Never said that nobody should. Just think each person should interpret it in their own way. You can think what you want of me Rob, but I am a very creative person and I'm seriously anti-establishment and always have been. I live in the man's world as little as possible and make my own way. I've found a way to use my creativity and many of the lessons I learned from being a Dead Head in my life every day. Not all of my ideas are original, but if I don't put my own spin on them or allow my creativity to flow into them, I'm not creating, I'm just recreating. Peace man. Seriously. Bootsy has TONS O LOVE for all of you and all that know me, know that.
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Subject: A few thoughts


Author:
Rob Eaton
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 21:38:14 08/23/05 Tue
I thought I'd chime in here after reading what felt like days of posts regarding "bootsy". There are so many things to say yet I'll keep it simple. What bootsy doesn't get is that DSO does NOT COPY any show in any way. The concept of playing "shows" for us is mearly a set list. It would be against everything the music is meant to be if it were "copied" as boosty suggests. The beauty of the music is that it's based around improvisation. The heart and soul of the music is the freedom to play it as you feel at that moment. If it's forced or planned it fails. We play the music from our hearts not from our heads. We don't try to look, sound, act like the Dead it's just how it is. Every show is different from the next. Another thing about the Dead that many forget is that half of their material were cover songs from other artists. Some of our favorites Morning Dew, Going Down The Road, I Know You Rider etc were all covers. Quite frankly if we were "copying" the music I wouldn't be here. Each night we get to explore the music and take it different places. The jazz community has been covering each others songs for decades. It's a priviladge to be able to play this music. The thing that Bootsy doesn't get is that being a Dead Head is a way of life, a way of thinking. The music was just one part of it the other part was and is the people. The beauty is when it all comes together. Who cares if you know the title if it moves you emotionally THATS whats important! Those open enough get it and will continue to come back the others will miss it but that's also a part of life. When the old Grateful Dead family come out to see us (Kidd, Betty, Mountain Girl, Donna Jean, Harry Popick the list goes on) that's our biggest jury. They continue to come out because the feeling is the same and they would know certainly more so then Bootsy. Imagine if nobody ever played other artists music after the original stopped? What a sad thing that would be! Peace
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Subject: DID NOT POST "GREATEST HITS"


Author:
Bootsy
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 20:33:28 08/25/05 Thu
Apparently anybody can post a message here with someone elses name. I DID NOT POST THE GREATEST HITS THING. If you're going to come at me at least you could come correct. Have the guts to say who you are and not to just try and drag me through the mud. I'm not that much of a dick. And as for Dr. Barry Hitler... I would think that you all would like to read my upcoming response to Rob or are you such drones that the final word has been spoken by your sage?
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Subject: VOTE FOR BOOTSY..... (or not) <---hint


Author:
T_Wilkins
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 21:14:29 08/25/05 Thu
Hey everybody. If it was possible to vote Bootsy off of this site, would you? Well let's have a mock vote! Vote "Yes" to hypothetically vote him off the site. Vote "No" to hypothetically keep him.

I'd vote "Yes". Can the sucker!!!!

Bootsy, enough is enough. The majority here LOVE DSO and are extremely blessed by their music. We all know your opinion VERY WELL now and I, for one, am sick of it. I know this site is free for everyone (as it should be), so the above is just to prove a point. Of course we can't really vote you off. But if you're going to hang in here with everyone, you've got to be courteous. You are causing post polution. We know your opinions... all too well now. Hell, we've gotten it from the beginning. So, unless you you have something else to talk about OTHER than how much you hate DSO and how lost we all are.... GO AWAY. Please, for the love of Pete. Go to one of YOUR favorite band's websites and post something POSITIVE about them. Geez, man. Chill. Mellow out. Oh yeah... and GO AWAY.

Again, I vote "Yes". Can the sucker!!!
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Subject: Grateful Fest


Author:
erin
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 18:52:03 08/25/05 Thu
Grateful fest was an amazing weekend of music. I thought it was pretty interesting how the "new generation" of the grateful dead music family has evolved the music into a new aged groove (Boom-box). DSO was of course energetic and musically inclined. Lisa and Donna have it goin' on. It is so cool to see influential females able to hold their own in a setting such as Nelson's Ledges. Shimmy Shack was off the hook!!! Hell YEAH! By far one of the best bands. You guys could do anything -great combination of the origin of the grateful dead music with a new aged twist. The crowd was pretty cool, although there was definitely a difference between the new aged hippies and the "old dead family." I would just like to add- someone later expressed something to me about "humming" with the music- i'm sorry if it bothered anyone- especially the musicians- i really respect you guys- i just feel vibrations and i love it. i want to be a vibration- a photon and a wavelength at exactly the same time. i'm a crazy scientist and festivals bring it out in me. I'm truly sorry if it bothered anyone, my intentions were good... i was just trying to be apart of "it" instead of sitting on the side-line letting time go past me.
Replies:
Subject: strange man tease


Author:
Jeannie
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 12:00:03 08/25/05 Thu
Did anyone else hear a strange man tease on Sunday night??
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Subject: Sunday's Setlist ???i (hey R.J.)


Author:
Terry
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 20:35:17 08/24/05 Wed
Hey R.J. whats up good brother. This is Terry from grateful fest. It was cool meeting you and partyin and dancin. I was heart broken that I had to leave sunday in midset. The chinacat>rider was real sweet. Sorry I had to bolt on you but my buddy was waiting in the car and real pissed. Oh well, just wanted to say whats up. My email is tljohnson78@yahoo.com write that down and keep in touch..............Also does anyone have the setlist from sunday because I have to know what I missed. The weekend was perfect, I wish Grateful fest once a month from spring till fall. That festival is just tooo gooood. Had a blast, thanks to everyone. Nothing left to do but Smile Smile Smile.
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Subject: Fillmore Tickets


Author:
ibrahima
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 14:11:47 08/25/05 Thu
Has anyone heard anything about when tickets will be available for DSO at the Fillmore in October? I checked out the Fillmore's website and they have not listed them yet. Are they on sale?
Subject: ....a REAL good time


Author:
Tyler
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 09:43:59 08/25/05 Thu
Smiles and Hugs to the whole Grateful Fest family. This was my first time, hopefully of many many more to come! To Evan and his outstanding staff, you all are the tops!

To just about everyone who showed up (artists, vendors, fans, families) : thanks for proving that 100's and 100's (1000's?) of diverse people can congregate for a rockin' good time over 3 days in a beautiful slice of nature without trashing the place or showing the slightest bit of disrespect to the environment or others. You are ALL the kindest!!

From Herdy's Groovy Grove over to Pres and Looky's digs and all points between, it was really a blast hanging out with the DSO extended family (way too many people to list, but you know who you are!).

Special thanks to Shad for his hard work and dedication in capturing the performances on video, so we will all have a little time capsule of a truly picturesque and memorable summer weekend.

There were so many great performances over the weekend from such a wide range of outstanding artists spanning different generations and styles, it is tough to not write pages and pages about the experience. All deserve praise, but one new act stood out to me, personally, since it was that rarest of rare musical acts that makes you an instant fan of something you never heard before. If you missed Zion Godchaux and BoomBox, don't make that mistake ever again! Zion and Russ have fused live music with electronic in the most unique, seamless presentation I have ever heard (and I have heard almost as much electronic music as live concerts and recordings). These guys are ready for prime time and worth checking out. I listened to their CD probably 3 times during the 6 hour drive home, it’s that good. They have a very universally likable, super groovy sound that is nothing like what you would expect. Zion definitely carries the spirit and talent of both his parents. Keith would be as proud as Donna Jean surely is.

To DSO (band and crew all)....wow, I am speechless...a band beyond description...a dream come true. Others have been talking about the masterful performances and I don’t want to repeat my previous gushing posts on this board, so ‘nuf said.

Last but not least, not enough thanks can be said to the Grateful Dead family (and their families) who made the weekend so extra special : Donna Jean (kind, funny, lovely, lovely, lovely), David Gans (who is really a standout soloist and talented musician, in addition to being THE radio voice of the Dead’s legacy), Wavy Gravy (a legend), Bob Matthews (recordist extraordinaire), Jerry’s brother Tiff (a truly kind soul….it runs in the family).

From the heart: thank you, thank you, thank you. Peace, Everybody.
Subject: Grateful Fest


Author:
james
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 16:44:24 08/23/05 Tue
turning off the car and the cell phones we enter festival world, sitting on folding chairs under tall trees typically around a fire ring with the buzz of conversation and laughter in the background echoing off the depth and density of the forest with the occasional woooohoooo howl and looking around we see folks from all ages and walks of life most with tie dye clothing or some garb that reflects the culture of our scene, more natural, kind, and bright and out in the distance is the sound of music trickling through the woods and we ask our friends if they want to go for a walk and we do and there is no rush or stress, time doesn't really exist here, it's festival time, so we wonder through the labyrinth of dirt roads that lead out to the sandy sunny beach and it's a different environment - a huge lake-like quarry, sometimes referred to by the NLQP uninitiated as the ocean, river, lake or pool - which harbors sunbathers lying on the soft white sand and many children running around in bliss of either building sandcastles or spinning hula-hoops and the quarry is filled with smiling hippies and more children getting refreshed from the hot humid Ohio air, and far out in the middle of the quarry are thrill seekers jumping off tall ledges either diving or performing some body contortion twists and landing in the 50 feet deep water which is dotted by human bodies floating on colorful rafts peacefully allowing the water to take them to their paradise of summer relaxation and as we stand looking out there we catch a whiff of some beautifully aromatic burning herb which we soon recognize as white sage which is burning next to a circle of people all sitting with there knees up, most with dreaded locks of hair, beards, and shirtless with multipocketed shorts and Birkenstock sandals and a collage of natural jewelry adorning them, mostly constituting earthly materials such as crystals, hemp and metals which, when asked of the owner, contain some meaning beyond image, a meaning more spiritual such as protecting against negative psychic energy or aiding in aligning the chakras and so we look around and we see groups of friends standing, sitting, walking - there is the festival buzz going around, people are smiling, some are dancing and few to none are bitter and this fills us with a sense of joy and a vision of a more peaceful, colorful, creative and fun world when we compare it to what’s happening on the outside of the festival gates where the sterility and dryness of corporate America mixed with a fear of being different and unaccepted by the norm keeps them in the bubble of conditioned existence; but we don't dwell on that and come back to the moment of the festival and walk down vendor row browsing at the cornucopia of hand-crafted items for sale such as phil kuntos' psychedelic pencil drawings that you haven’t' seen since you were walking around tripping after the show at Nassau coliseum in fall of 89 or the hand made drums, tie die shirts, glass pipes, hand carved walking sticks, incense, eye ball photos, and all the hippie attire you could wish for and as we walk we hear the clanking of bells from a passing by diva with a twinkle in her eye and glowsticks around her neck and wrists which have since burned out since last night's party and her long flowery frilly flowy dress adorns her legs and her torso is only covered by a hemp bikini top even though her stomach is quite large and hangs forward, she is not self conscious because through the lessons of the entheogens she has learned to accept herself and love herself and for that she walks with her head up instead of down and we notice that there is more than just image in this culture, there is life and spirituality and love and with this realization we are drawn to the front of the stage which is a big open wooden stage set back next to the beach but with a dirt dance floor in the front and a grassy area towards the back which folks take refuge in the shade which is provided there along with the picnic tables and microphone-stand forest of tapers eagerly keeping an eye on theie input, output and power cords that slither across the ground waiting to trip some aloof untrained-how-to-walk-near-the-taper-section hippie and who are also eagerly awaiting that ever-so-crucial tape flip but back to the music now allow it to enter our ears and gradually move our bodies a bit looking around at who else is dancing and feeling inspired we close our eyes and totally focus on the music as it moves us into flowing rhythmic body movement and we breath and the breath and the music and the dance are slowly starting to amalgamate and an inner world of emotional imagination emerges animated by the melody and lyrics of the tune but we start to get lost so we open our eyes to reintegrate the earthly plane and check in with the energy that is around us and we are astonished to find others in the same web of primal, tribal, earth-stomping dance energy and it invigorates us to dance even harder and we begin to sweat and our hair flies as we swing our heads and begin to feel the special fungus we bought from a gnome-like sketched out dealer with a hood, sunglasses and a grateful dead pin with wings pinned to his hat named Tree and ate an hour earlier start to dissolve our egos and shift our ordinary consciousness into a one which is more light, subtle, and psychedelic causing an unnerving sensation in the stomach yet brilliant and colorful in the eyes and intense, jarring, and illuminating in the mind causing the music, environment and self to synergize without effort which to some can be ecstatic while to others less veteran in consciousness journeying be terrifying as the sense of self starts to dissolve and melt away into a state of being which is graspless and tends to put all our unresolved subconscious and dormant personality issues including our fear of death directly in the spotlight of our attention but before we freak out and try to run away from ourselves unsuccessfully we remember the spiritual lessons we’ve learned and practiced since our last inner trip and utilize them and suddenly our world is transformed seeing with the true eye as reality is and let go of holding on and surrender to the universe and as we do we start to feel the nurturing love that radiates within and fills our soul with warmth and it is so beautiful we can only cry and raise our hands up to the sky as the singer sings of an ‘angel standing in a shaft of light, rising up to paradise’ and we cry even more in the realization of that synchronicity and of how there really is a higher power and the mushrooms get stronger and ordinary reality is dissolving before our full-moon-pupil eyes as now the singer announces that the forces have teared loosed from the axis and we understand that he is talking about our illusory egos and masks have been temporarily dissolved and WOW this music knows what’s going on with us - searchlight casting for thoughts in clouds of delusion – the lyricist must have been here himself – shall we go, you and I while we can – since this is our time and the doors of perception have opened – through the transitive nightfall of diamonds – to the innermost dimensions of our soul, shimmering with beauty in the image of it’s creator; which leaves us with only one desire – to be sung back home.
Replies:
Subject: Gratefulfest 6 @ NLQP


Author:
Herdygerdy
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 22:40:45 08/22/05 Mon
Hey now people! What a fantastic weekend from start to finish, weather wise, music, friends, and laughter.. From the time Cornmeal came on to start the weekend off till the last note from the one man band singing until 5am Sunday morning, there was magic in the air.

So I pulled into the park a little early (2 days to be exact) and decided to get a great camping site and settle in before the chaos started. Ran into some of my "family" right off the bat and had a great dinner with them.. you know how to cook some chicken ya monkey... anyway... The family members just came rolling in one after another, and before ya knew it, I couldn't turn around anywhere in the park without seeing someone I knew..

...anyway, onto the music...

Friday opened up with Cornmeal, a GREAT blue/newgrass band from Chicago, followed by David Gans and then DSO... I believe they played Rob Eaton's first Grateful Dead show, which was 8/6/74.. First set was great and the second set was long and beautiful! Wavy Gravy commenting and sharing stories inbetween sets, and making everyone laugh with his animated movements and tone of voice. Donna Jean sitting in and singing, and seeing Tiff Garcia (yes, the man who cut off Jerry's finger back in the day) having a great time and enjoying the show. One couldn't ask for a better evening, and expect it to only get better as the days went on..

Saturday, was my personal favorite day for the Gratefulfest.. besides the hour downpour from the heavens, the weather, and music was FANTASTIC!! Started off the day with a couple swims in the lake, and then sat infront of the stage for the shows... DSO once again, rocked the night away with a steller preformance of 5/11/78, with a Peggy-O that made your eyes tear up.. Wavy Gravy at it again, telling stories, Donna Jean tearing it up with Lisa, and my favorite part of the night was the Family Drumz... Made my first, and hopefully not my last showing during drumz with a tamborine and woodblock, with Rob, Dino, the gang from Cornmeal, Dave, Debbie, RW, Prescott, Tiff, Zion, and a few I know I'm forgetting, thanks for the memory that will last a lifetime!
Late-night on stage was Zion Godchaux and BOOMBOX! What a GREAT show! If you ever get a chance to see that kid play, DO IT! After the music the party had just begun, and we played all night..

Sunday was the Benifit rally for The Rett Foundation, a great cause that raised over $5,000 for the cause! The crowd got to pick the setlists by buying raffle tickets and requesting the song... Raffle prizes included anything from free DSO tickets, to signed copies of books, to The Dead's final summer tour last summer, to old 1987 Grateful Dead Summer tour all access passes framed for all to see.. Hats off to everyone who provided for a great cause, and Dave Weissman who took alot of time to put this all together and be there everyday to run the raffle! DSO rocked the setlist from requests, and I got mine.. Standing on the Moon sent shivers down my spine..

Anyway, I won't ramble on to much, but I just have to say thank you to everyone who made that weekend special to me. You all are my family, and until the next time we meet, I will get by through the music in my heart... Sorry to those who I did not get to say goodbye to, but I know we'll be together again real soon.. Thanks to Wavy Gravy, Donna Jean, Zion and crew, Tiff Garcia, Evan and Christine, Cornmeal, Keller, and the rest of you talanted people. As for DSO and the extended family... see you all real soon!! Love you all!!
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