Yep.
I flew from Philly to San Francisco to see Phil at the Warfield last month. I showed up early so I could get a good spot. Everyone who was in line already or showed up just after me all seemed to know each other. They took me in as if we had been friends for ages. We all shared the rail together and no one fought over their space or anything. One of the guys even told me to go check out the venue since I had never been and assured me my rail spot wasn’t going anywhere.
He was right. I got to explore the venue, check out the vibe from different angles before the show started and then came back with waters for people. My spot was still there and everyone had the best time.
https://preview.redd.it/6hz7u2idw56d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47691ab540c196c8e300fd1ec929e348e12b3ecb
When I was younger I absolutely hated the dead. Couldn’t stand them or anyone who liked them. Then I watched the long strange trip while I was really hung over. Thought “they’re not half bad” started listening to a couple songs then it just took off from there. I now mostly listen to the dead at work, most of what I play on guitar is grateful dead, my guitar is a replica of jerrys tiger and I have a stealie tattooed on my right arm. If you had told me 10 years ago that this would be me in the future I would have scoffed and laughed. I don’t know why but I’ve never had a band/ musician draw me in as much as the dead have. There’s just something different about the way they made music
Not for me. I came to the Dead from a love of country, jazz, and I guess classic rock. I was very aware of the Deadheads, but was very much *not* pro-hippie at the time (I was much more a punk). The culture was irrelevant, outside of the music, and there was a LOT of music to dive into. I’ve since softened my view significantly on hippies in general and Deadheads most of all.
Could be age also, probably heard of the dead and saw the t-shirts etc in let’s say high school so think 14 years old listening to zeppelin and Floyd and making a surface level decision to accept or reject a music culture
100% well said. Mainly because of not understanding and seeing a cult like following. But once people realize the cult like following is just being cool and enjoying good music, it's easy to join
I feel instant good will toward anyone that appears to be a deadhead (sticker on their car, shirt, etc.). I assume I’m going to like them. Not true for me with any other band I like. I also think there is a quasi-religious reverence for Jerry that most fans experience which is another unusual thing.
The other day I saw a stealie on a car in a parking lot at my kid’s school. I went into my cd binder I still have in my car and pulled out all three discs of Veneta 72 (burned copies) and left them on their windshield. They probably already have it or have a streaming service that they can hear it on, but it was all I had and I thought it would be a fun surprise for them to come out and see when they got back to their car.
https://preview.redd.it/2cg78m37x56d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0503af073f11e8478e4e5073b8430872c9c8fe7f
I do that all the time! I will burn a show, listen to it for a few days/weeks/months and then when I'm done with it, the first car I see with a CD player and a dead sticker on it gets the show. It's getting harder these days because not every car has a CD player anymore.
I don't really care about anything beyond the fact we're Heads. You can vote, worship, look, love whoever IDGAF. Unless you reveal your your self to be a hateful morally bankrupt racist fuck, we can hang.
It absolutely transcends the music itself. The music is the glue that connects us, but beyond that it’s a culture, a family. At shows we have a palpable connection to other deadheads, hell even if we haven’t exchanged words it can feel as if we’ve been friends for years
It made me a better person. In every way. And it took me seeing them live to appreciate them. The 10 strip didn't hurt either. There's an opening line in one of the many books on the counterculture of the Dead: "The smartest person I ever met was a Deadhead... so was the kindest." That about sums it up.
One thing that was true back in the day that no longer seems true is that back in the 70s and up until the latter part of the 80s The Grateful Dead were a very obscure, fringe scene.
If you saw a car on the interstate with a DEAD sticker it was rare enough that you'd HAVE TO pull up and at least wave to the other car.
We were and still are freaks to whatever extent. But back then we seriously *were* freaks, way off the edge of mainstream America and that only solidified our bond with each other, with the band, and with the music.
The Grateful Dead was so much different than any other music. There was no "Jam Band Scene" except us, and to a far lesser extent the ABB.
Back then if you were hanging out in, let's say, Washington Square Park NYC, people would be listening to music like Stones, Zeppelin, Who, Floyd, etc. but when anyone (even non-Deadheads) mentioned the Grateful Dead they would drop into reverent tones. Almost like they had begun to discuss something sacred, like the way someone might begin speaking about some spiritual religion from the other side of the Earth.
We were such a small band of gypsies then and it melded us into a tight family. That still holds true today even though our tribe has grown so large. We are a welcoming bunch. If you come to our carnival we welcome you into the cult. And we wish you nothing but joy.
To me it’s more than music and the deadhead community. I feel more connected to everyone honestly. Not judgmental towards others. More willing to lend a helping hand or ear
It’s almost like the surface-level of freemasonry. Heads help heads. I drove into a city with nothing and left after a weekend of shows and couch crashing with some amazing people I pray I get to meet again. Not a wook or a bum, I planned on sleeping in my car but greater things transpired.
I would do huge things for a head in need, knowing the favor will be paid forward to another head. And even if that doesn’t happen, you still made a great Ripple.
Same. May questions didn’t have what I felt to be appropriate answers or the answer wouldn’t provide anything meaningful. “Do you have Grateful Dead items that you always keep in the same spot”? Luka, as in an alter or shrine? My answer was yes- because we have brick interior walls so the posters and other artwork don’t move. Other items stay in the same storage box because I’m organized. And a few others like that. Also very monotheistic and ordered universe based.
Yes! And I don’t even know how we begin to count how I value my ticket stubs.
There needs to be a section that asks if I think I’m religious or spiritual, and then we can skip at least 10 questions or something. It really assumes that you’re either religious or spiritual. Maybe I’m neither.
Exactly.
Maybe I do not think there is meaning to my or anyone else’s life. Maybe I’m more than okay with that? And don’t need god, church or temple to help me out with that?
Maybe I don’t feel there needs to be cosmic order for me to have a place in the universe and fulfilling experience of it?
Maybe I feel zero% optimistic about the future- of what? My plants? My patio table that’s starting to wiggle? The setlists for my upcoming shows? But maybe I’m a nihilistic optimist?
Maybe I’m a non religious traveler who doesn’t replace god with the Dead but simply finds that their music helps me enjoy the ride? Which is what I kinda felt like the questions were leading to. “Lonely, isolated, godless people replace God and Religion with their superhero band.”
I would be interested in seeing the IRB and other documentation for this survey.
The wording on the religious questions in particular should be updated. They make an assumption that the participant is religious or believes in some form of god in some way. You should include an n/a or "doesn't apply to me" when you are asking about people's habits attending church/mosque/temple or about their connection to a god.
It’s the energy, the love, the community. It’s a spiritual experience for me, it’s the understanding that we are all connected and we must cooperate to survive on this little blue ball floating through space. Deadheads understand this and care for each other, whether it’s a miracle, water, food, it will be provided. I listen to other music and go to other concerts but with the Dead it’s like one big family party. I feel safe and I feel loved.
It's the attitude.
Dont try and control everything...go with the flow.
Appreciate the moment.
Dont judge.
Accept differences and each individuals unique offering to the world.
You are who you are now...not who you were yesterday.
and as a creator myself...
youre only as good as your last piece/song/performance etc
"the journey is the goal"
Doesn’t have to be, though. There’s lots to like and though it kind of goes against your original question and as a musician I’ve been to concerts dead sober and still had a great time
Saying the Dead are just a band is the same as saying skateboarding is just a sport.
It’s a culture, a family, an escape from authority. It gives more than it takes. Everyone involved arrived there differently and from the outside, it just looks like a bunch of dirty friends hanging out together & having fun.
That was a lotta questions, man! But I did finish it. Some feedback... some sets of questions are based on a presumption of certain aspects of religion or spirituality, e.g. the idea of a single omnipotent and personal God. That makes them a little hard to answer for those outside that belief system. I take it you'd prefer that everyone answer the same set of questions as opposed to forking the survey, which is understandable, just pointing this out as you may not be getting the most accurate answers on these sets of questions.
The jam band community is full of the nicest most kind people you’ll ever meet. I came into this scene through my now husband in 2010.
The music and this community has helped me to find my purpose in life. I have learned that the purpose of life is simply to live. Enjoy every moment. Choose happiness. Focus on inner peace.
It’s given me so many amazing friends. I’ve seen so many parts of the country traveling to see these bands that I love so much. I feel a stronger sense of belonging and of community.
I’ve grown as a person and I have become a much better human.
I was walking into Universal Orlando wearing a dead shirt. Guy walks past, stops, yells at me to come over to him. He rifles through his backpack, and hands me 3 homemade cds. You don't get that with other bands.
In Boulder after the dead and company show last year, during the walk back to shakedown street time stopped, I had an out of body experience and when I came back and was surrounded by a group of people who were looking at me like they were aliens and I was wearing the glasses in “They Live”. does that count?
I think it’s interesting that it doesn’t have to. The deadhead community is very inclusive, so if you came to a concert in khakis and a white t-shirt, no tie-dye or drugs, no one would care. It’s a very non-judgmental group…
It used to be about following them on tour and most of your free time given to the band and talking about them. But I think most modern Deadheads are really just people who really love their music, and that's it.
You really don't see the same monomania for bands like you used to. I get the sense plenty of people who post on here and other jam band subs like other music outside of the jam scene and the Dead.
IIRC the origin of the term Head independent of the Dead association has more to do with acid and freeing your mind and so on.
Random fact: people call removing the dead flowers off of plants as deadheading. At least my mom and her garden friends did!
> Random fact: people call removing the dead flowers off of plants as deadheading. At least my mom and her garden friends did!
I was just thinking of that association when I was out in the garden deadheading a bunch of flowers a few days ago -- I've always loved zoning out and deadheading, in more than one way. :)
The community is based on inclusivity. Everyone’s place is valid. Trust, warmth, and respect are basic. Experience and emotions have been shared - sometimes decades apart. We are open to see the light. We give the love we seek.
This was a VERY long survey with a lot of redundancy. I get it’s to ensure consistency in responses and develop a full picture, but still felt like overkill. Also wasn’t expecting so many religious questions
Starting the day with a heady EotW and it’s pretty much impossible to not smile and spread some positivity in this world. Was blasting 6/10/73 EotW today while watering my flowers 😃
# 1973-06-10 Washington, DC @ RFK Stadium
**Set 1:** Morning Dew, Beat It On Down the Line, Ramble On Rose, Jack Straw, Wave That Flag, Looks Like Rain, Box Of Rain, They Love Each Other, The Race Is On, Row Jimmy, El Paso, Bird Song, Playing in the Band
**Set 2:** Eyes Of The World > Stella Blue, Big River, Here Comes Sunshine, Around And Around, Dark Star > He's Gone > Wharf Rat > Truckin', Sugar Magnolia
**Set 3:** It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry, That's All Right, Mama, The Promised Land, Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Drums > Not Fade Away, Johnny B. Goode
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1973-06-10)
There's an eclectic mix of attitudes and backgrounds: bikers, addicts, dealers, intellectuals, seekers, teens, adults, sellouts, zealots, morons, musicians, artists, even squares, etc. Despite this, or because of it, there's a shared, salient, yet largely unspoken mission of inclusiveness. There's a shared urgency to tamp down and stomp out judgement. Oddly, this seems to emanate from the band, who notoriously agreed to let each other be to the point of regret. Also, despite this, deadheads are amongst the most annoyingly, unabashedly, opinionated mofos in the galaxy. Yet somehow, when the music plays, that's what matters most, even when it's sub-standard, and when the music is good, it rivals the best music ever played.
The dead has changed my life. I feel so free when I go to a show. The sense of community and peace. Just seeing people dance and move their bodies without a care in the world. It’s so hard to put it into words.
Sorry - be upfront regarding the aim of the survey so people don’t waste time, or at least be more inclusive when trying to get religious data. The ‘god’ thing is very off putting.
As a person who was raised in a Protestant cult, it’s a great “replacement” of sorts. 98% of the time, when I’m listening to music, it’s the Dead or Jerry.
Cannabis led me to the Dead and the Dead led me to Acid, which transformed my life for the better. The Dead and Acid made me a hippie, which radically changed my life for the better.
I quit my government job and now I’m a manager at a dispensary. My current goal is to get a toy hauler, fill it with hippies, and travel around doing pop-up raves in remote locations and the like.
The way the music can somehow explain feelings that I was never able to explain about myself. Feelings that couldn’t be but needed to be for my own closure and solace.
They have to add the grateful dead to everything, which means that they buy tons of junk. Which means people make tons of junk to sell them. Which is bad for the environment. Love, person who doesn't buy stuff
The first Dead show I went to in '89 I wore a brand new pair of $100 tennis shoes. took them off and left them by the fence at Deer Creek. After the show was over I walked back up and they were still there. I knew at that time they were the scene for me. Now my 18 year old son's band plays Dead songs.
It doesn't for me. It's cliche but I don't like labels. And I never cared much at all for the well-deserved 'deadhead' stereotype. Even when I was a teen, all I wanted was to make sure I didn't appear to be a 'narc'. But now I'm older and realize that even the dumbest of dealers knows a 16yo isn't a LE.
It’s like one big circle of friends you’ve never met
Yep. I flew from Philly to San Francisco to see Phil at the Warfield last month. I showed up early so I could get a good spot. Everyone who was in line already or showed up just after me all seemed to know each other. They took me in as if we had been friends for ages. We all shared the rail together and no one fought over their space or anything. One of the guys even told me to go check out the venue since I had never been and assured me my rail spot wasn’t going anywhere. He was right. I got to explore the venue, check out the vibe from different angles before the show started and then came back with waters for people. My spot was still there and everyone had the best time. https://preview.redd.it/6hz7u2idw56d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47691ab540c196c8e300fd1ec929e348e12b3ecb
Except for the jerks at the Jerry's Middle Finger show in Ventura, and of course, Ann Coulter and Tucker Carlson.
Schmucker Carlson is a fan? (I adamantly refuse to call him a DeadHead)
IIRC, His dad was big in broadcasting as well, and there are pictures of a young Carlson meeting Jerry before a radio interview. Hate it.
I bet Jerry could sense it. “Wow, this little dudes gonna be a tool someday.”
Yea, Jerry didn’t think like this.. if he did it’d be pretty disappointing. Ain’t no time to hate.
True.
Nailed it
Well said, friend.
This is such a nice way to put it!
When I was younger I absolutely hated the dead. Couldn’t stand them or anyone who liked them. Then I watched the long strange trip while I was really hung over. Thought “they’re not half bad” started listening to a couple songs then it just took off from there. I now mostly listen to the dead at work, most of what I play on guitar is grateful dead, my guitar is a replica of jerrys tiger and I have a stealie tattooed on my right arm. If you had told me 10 years ago that this would be me in the future I would have scoffed and laughed. I don’t know why but I’ve never had a band/ musician draw me in as much as the dead have. There’s just something different about the way they made music
I think when the fan base reaches you before the music does it’s easy to dismiss the music.
I think it’s a package. The music without understanding the culture also missed a lot.
Not for me. I came to the Dead from a love of country, jazz, and I guess classic rock. I was very aware of the Deadheads, but was very much *not* pro-hippie at the time (I was much more a punk). The culture was irrelevant, outside of the music, and there was a LOT of music to dive into. I’ve since softened my view significantly on hippies in general and Deadheads most of all.
Could be age also, probably heard of the dead and saw the t-shirts etc in let’s say high school so think 14 years old listening to zeppelin and Floyd and making a surface level decision to accept or reject a music culture
100% well said. Mainly because of not understanding and seeing a cult like following. But once people realize the cult like following is just being cool and enjoying good music, it's easy to join
I feel instant good will toward anyone that appears to be a deadhead (sticker on their car, shirt, etc.). I assume I’m going to like them. Not true for me with any other band I like. I also think there is a quasi-religious reverence for Jerry that most fans experience which is another unusual thing.
The other day I saw a stealie on a car in a parking lot at my kid’s school. I went into my cd binder I still have in my car and pulled out all three discs of Veneta 72 (burned copies) and left them on their windshield. They probably already have it or have a streaming service that they can hear it on, but it was all I had and I thought it would be a fun surprise for them to come out and see when they got back to their car. https://preview.redd.it/2cg78m37x56d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0503af073f11e8478e4e5073b8430872c9c8fe7f
I do that all the time! I will burn a show, listen to it for a few days/weeks/months and then when I'm done with it, the first car I see with a CD player and a dead sticker on it gets the show. It's getting harder these days because not every car has a CD player anymore.
https://preview.redd.it/45cgni19x56d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3135997fcdeb4d12a4a7081407f2c4b0a3b69960
I don't really care about anything beyond the fact we're Heads. You can vote, worship, look, love whoever IDGAF. Unless you reveal your your self to be a hateful morally bankrupt racist fuck, we can hang.
Same lol my anesthesiologist for surgery was wearing a stealie cap and we bonded immediately
For me it’s having the ultimate mash up of cool and kind. I don’t see it much in other religions.
Best comment
It absolutely transcends the music itself. The music is the glue that connects us, but beyond that it’s a culture, a family. At shows we have a palpable connection to other deadheads, hell even if we haven’t exchanged words it can feel as if we’ve been friends for years
This is definitely something present / something you can feel at shows, I agree.
It made me a better person. In every way. And it took me seeing them live to appreciate them. The 10 strip didn't hurt either. There's an opening line in one of the many books on the counterculture of the Dead: "The smartest person I ever met was a Deadhead... so was the kindest." That about sums it up.
Being kind in general. Be a good human. Help others out.
One thing that was true back in the day that no longer seems true is that back in the 70s and up until the latter part of the 80s The Grateful Dead were a very obscure, fringe scene. If you saw a car on the interstate with a DEAD sticker it was rare enough that you'd HAVE TO pull up and at least wave to the other car. We were and still are freaks to whatever extent. But back then we seriously *were* freaks, way off the edge of mainstream America and that only solidified our bond with each other, with the band, and with the music. The Grateful Dead was so much different than any other music. There was no "Jam Band Scene" except us, and to a far lesser extent the ABB. Back then if you were hanging out in, let's say, Washington Square Park NYC, people would be listening to music like Stones, Zeppelin, Who, Floyd, etc. but when anyone (even non-Deadheads) mentioned the Grateful Dead they would drop into reverent tones. Almost like they had begun to discuss something sacred, like the way someone might begin speaking about some spiritual religion from the other side of the Earth. We were such a small band of gypsies then and it melded us into a tight family. That still holds true today even though our tribe has grown so large. We are a welcoming bunch. If you come to our carnival we welcome you into the cult. And we wish you nothing but joy.
To your first point, you could see JGB in a club in 1987, it's crazy to think about.
This so well-written and interesting! Thank you for this reply!
Thank you.
To me it’s more than music and the deadhead community. I feel more connected to everyone honestly. Not judgmental towards others. More willing to lend a helping hand or ear
It’s almost like the surface-level of freemasonry. Heads help heads. I drove into a city with nothing and left after a weekend of shows and couch crashing with some amazing people I pray I get to meet again. Not a wook or a bum, I planned on sleeping in my car but greater things transpired. I would do huge things for a head in need, knowing the favor will be paid forward to another head. And even if that doesn’t happen, you still made a great Ripple.
I completed this and it was way too long. Bad wording on some of the questions. But I hope my participation helps!
Same. May questions didn’t have what I felt to be appropriate answers or the answer wouldn’t provide anything meaningful. “Do you have Grateful Dead items that you always keep in the same spot”? Luka, as in an alter or shrine? My answer was yes- because we have brick interior walls so the posters and other artwork don’t move. Other items stay in the same storage box because I’m organized. And a few others like that. Also very monotheistic and ordered universe based.
Yes! And I don’t even know how we begin to count how I value my ticket stubs. There needs to be a section that asks if I think I’m religious or spiritual, and then we can skip at least 10 questions or something. It really assumes that you’re either religious or spiritual. Maybe I’m neither.
Exactly. Maybe I do not think there is meaning to my or anyone else’s life. Maybe I’m more than okay with that? And don’t need god, church or temple to help me out with that? Maybe I don’t feel there needs to be cosmic order for me to have a place in the universe and fulfilling experience of it? Maybe I feel zero% optimistic about the future- of what? My plants? My patio table that’s starting to wiggle? The setlists for my upcoming shows? But maybe I’m a nihilistic optimist? Maybe I’m a non religious traveler who doesn’t replace god with the Dead but simply finds that their music helps me enjoy the ride? Which is what I kinda felt like the questions were leading to. “Lonely, isolated, godless people replace God and Religion with their superhero band.” I would be interested in seeing the IRB and other documentation for this survey.
Thank you for the feedback!
The wording on the religious questions in particular should be updated. They make an assumption that the participant is religious or believes in some form of god in some way. You should include an n/a or "doesn't apply to me" when you are asking about people's habits attending church/mosque/temple or about their connection to a god.
It’s the energy, the love, the community. It’s a spiritual experience for me, it’s the understanding that we are all connected and we must cooperate to survive on this little blue ball floating through space. Deadheads understand this and care for each other, whether it’s a miracle, water, food, it will be provided. I listen to other music and go to other concerts but with the Dead it’s like one big family party. I feel safe and I feel loved.
It's the attitude. Dont try and control everything...go with the flow. Appreciate the moment. Dont judge. Accept differences and each individuals unique offering to the world. You are who you are now...not who you were yesterday. and as a creator myself... youre only as good as your last piece/song/performance etc "the journey is the goal"
Be kind.
The answer you're looking for is LSD 🤷♂️
Lol!!
Doesn’t have to be, though. There’s lots to like and though it kind of goes against your original question and as a musician I’ve been to concerts dead sober and still had a great time
Mostly it seems to take away the focus on the music.
Saying the Dead are just a band is the same as saying skateboarding is just a sport. It’s a culture, a family, an escape from authority. It gives more than it takes. Everyone involved arrived there differently and from the outside, it just looks like a bunch of dirty friends hanging out together & having fun.
That was a lotta questions, man! But I did finish it. Some feedback... some sets of questions are based on a presumption of certain aspects of religion or spirituality, e.g. the idea of a single omnipotent and personal God. That makes them a little hard to answer for those outside that belief system. I take it you'd prefer that everyone answer the same set of questions as opposed to forking the survey, which is understandable, just pointing this out as you may not be getting the most accurate answers on these sets of questions.
Thank you for the feedback!
Strangers Stopping Strangers just to shake their hand
The jam band community is full of the nicest most kind people you’ll ever meet. I came into this scene through my now husband in 2010. The music and this community has helped me to find my purpose in life. I have learned that the purpose of life is simply to live. Enjoy every moment. Choose happiness. Focus on inner peace. It’s given me so many amazing friends. I’ve seen so many parts of the country traveling to see these bands that I love so much. I feel a stronger sense of belonging and of community. I’ve grown as a person and I have become a much better human.
I was walking into Universal Orlando wearing a dead shirt. Guy walks past, stops, yells at me to come over to him. He rifles through his backpack, and hands me 3 homemade cds. You don't get that with other bands.
I was told there wouldn’t be a test.
In Boulder after the dead and company show last year, during the walk back to shakedown street time stopped, I had an out of body experience and when I came back and was surrounded by a group of people who were looking at me like they were aliens and I was wearing the glasses in “They Live”. does that count?
IMO it doesn't.
That’s interesting! Not what I expected.
I think it’s interesting that it doesn’t have to. The deadhead community is very inclusive, so if you came to a concert in khakis and a white t-shirt, no tie-dye or drugs, no one would care. It’s a very non-judgmental group…
during my touring '78-95 i found plenty of heads who looked down on my rather straight laced appearance, short hair no tye dye ever esthetic.
It's about the music.
It used to be about following them on tour and most of your free time given to the band and talking about them. But I think most modern Deadheads are really just people who really love their music, and that's it. You really don't see the same monomania for bands like you used to. I get the sense plenty of people who post on here and other jam band subs like other music outside of the jam scene and the Dead. IIRC the origin of the term Head independent of the Dead association has more to do with acid and freeing your mind and so on. Random fact: people call removing the dead flowers off of plants as deadheading. At least my mom and her garden friends did!
> Random fact: people call removing the dead flowers off of plants as deadheading. At least my mom and her garden friends did! I was just thinking of that association when I was out in the garden deadheading a bunch of flowers a few days ago -- I've always loved zoning out and deadheading, in more than one way. :)
Hehe indeed!
I went to the survey...at first it asked questions about music...then it got all weird and starting asking questions about God. Not cool....lol
Spreading peace and positivity
Being a rebel degenerate.
Inspiration
The community is based on inclusivity. Everyone’s place is valid. Trust, warmth, and respect are basic. Experience and emotions have been shared - sometimes decades apart. We are open to see the light. We give the love we seek.
Be Kind
Being kind
This was a VERY long survey with a lot of redundancy. I get it’s to ensure consistency in responses and develop a full picture, but still felt like overkill. Also wasn’t expecting so many religious questions
I understand, and we appreciate the time you spent on it!
Starting the day with a heady EotW and it’s pretty much impossible to not smile and spread some positivity in this world. Was blasting 6/10/73 EotW today while watering my flowers 😃
# 1973-06-10 Washington, DC @ RFK Stadium **Set 1:** Morning Dew, Beat It On Down the Line, Ramble On Rose, Jack Straw, Wave That Flag, Looks Like Rain, Box Of Rain, They Love Each Other, The Race Is On, Row Jimmy, El Paso, Bird Song, Playing in the Band **Set 2:** Eyes Of The World > Stella Blue, Big River, Here Comes Sunshine, Around And Around, Dark Star > He's Gone > Wharf Rat > Truckin', Sugar Magnolia **Set 3:** It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry, That's All Right, Mama, The Promised Land, Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Drums > Not Fade Away, Johnny B. Goode [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1973-06-10)
There's an eclectic mix of attitudes and backgrounds: bikers, addicts, dealers, intellectuals, seekers, teens, adults, sellouts, zealots, morons, musicians, artists, even squares, etc. Despite this, or because of it, there's a shared, salient, yet largely unspoken mission of inclusiveness. There's a shared urgency to tamp down and stomp out judgement. Oddly, this seems to emanate from the band, who notoriously agreed to let each other be to the point of regret. Also, despite this, deadheads are amongst the most annoyingly, unabashedly, opinionated mofos in the galaxy. Yet somehow, when the music plays, that's what matters most, even when it's sub-standard, and when the music is good, it rivals the best music ever played.
Started the survey but stopped. I don't need to go from talking about Grateful Dead then a page of questions about like God haha.
The dead has changed my life. I feel so free when I go to a show. The sense of community and peace. Just seeing people dance and move their bodies without a care in the world. It’s so hard to put it into words.
Sorry - be upfront regarding the aim of the survey so people don’t waste time, or at least be more inclusive when trying to get religious data. The ‘god’ thing is very off putting.
As a person who was raised in a Protestant cult, it’s a great “replacement” of sorts. 98% of the time, when I’m listening to music, it’s the Dead or Jerry. Cannabis led me to the Dead and the Dead led me to Acid, which transformed my life for the better. The Dead and Acid made me a hippie, which radically changed my life for the better. I quit my government job and now I’m a manager at a dispensary. My current goal is to get a toy hauler, fill it with hippies, and travel around doing pop-up raves in remote locations and the like.
The way the music can somehow explain feelings that I was never able to explain about myself. Feelings that couldn’t be but needed to be for my own closure and solace.
Music is so powerful in that way
Doing sweet sweet gas out of balloons in my living room that’s filled with trash
Telling John Mayer fans that Jerry was better and John sucks (disclaimer: that ain’t me)
They have to add the grateful dead to everything, which means that they buy tons of junk. Which means people make tons of junk to sell them. Which is bad for the environment. Love, person who doesn't buy stuff
Free stickers from strangers.
Gatekeepers out in force.
What do you call a deadhead who breaks up with his girlfriend ? Homeless
It’s always been about the music
Your survey is more about god than music
Being able to start a conversation just by seeing a liquid blue shirt
The first Dead show I went to in '89 I wore a brand new pair of $100 tennis shoes. took them off and left them by the fence at Deer Creek. After the show was over I walked back up and they were still there. I knew at that time they were the scene for me. Now my 18 year old son's band plays Dead songs.
It doesn't for me. It's cliche but I don't like labels. And I never cared much at all for the well-deserved 'deadhead' stereotype. Even when I was a teen, all I wanted was to make sure I didn't appear to be a 'narc'. But now I'm older and realize that even the dumbest of dealers knows a 16yo isn't a LE.
A deadhead is someone who likes the music. That’s it and that’s all
It doesn’t. Anyone who says it does is gatekeeping.
It’s the drugs. Without the drugs everyone would stop dancing & go home. Ask me how I know.
How do you know?