Tootfinder

50 years ago today, the #GratefulDead & jefferson starship in golden gate park’s lindley meadow at the unity fair, presented by people’s ballroom, local white panthers offshoot. the dead weren’t announced until that afternoon. 4th of 4 ’75 shows & final free show in golden gate (or any) park besides ’91 bill graham memorial. last dead tape until may ’76; longest break in tape record &a…

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead in #atlanta, opening their last stand at the fox theater, marking (almost) the permanent end of the small venue era, with a world series-themed debut. fall ’85, show #3.
soundboard:

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead in #atlanta, their final show at the fox. nice soundboard mix makes for a good listen. fall ’85, show #4.
soundboard:

deep new project by john brackett, @…, examining documents from the #GratefulDead business archive at UC santa cruz. he's got a new scholarly book out in the spring about "touch of grey" (!!). his last was…

"Hauling items for the mob": "Independent promotion companies," payola, and "Touch of Grey" (1987)
This is a document that I examine in my forthcoming book, Touch of Grey, or, How the Grateful Dead Became Pop Stars (forthcoming spring 2026 from Duke University Press).

on this week’s "blues for allah" #GratefulDead cast, rich & i attempt to untie “slipknot!” & pin down the grateful dead’s harmonic & personal ambiguity in early 1975. were they even a band anymore or a “more or less permanent musical association” as jerry garcia put it?

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead open their 20th anniversary fall tour, their 1st trip to #florida in 3 years & final visit to @thoughtsonGD@twitter.com’s beloved hollywood sportatorium.
soundboard:

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
Grateful Dead:
🎵 Crazy Fingers
#GratefulDead

always a mofo of a mail day when the new newsletter arrives from the #GratefulDead studies association. see you in albuquerque in february! https://deadstudies.org

this week on the good ol’ #GratefulDead cast, we flip the side on “blues for allah” & get into “crazy fingers,” legit one of my favorite dead studio cuts, capturing a delicate place that virtually all live versions (outside 1975) miss. https://…

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #DriveTime
Grateful Dead:
🎵 Sugar Magnolia
#GratefulDead
https://mightaswell1.bandcamp.com/track/sugar-magnolia
https://open.spotify.com/track/4Jp5pt7xrG2DLkUtUtqhzl

50 years ago tonight, 4 members of the #GratefulDead return to the great american music hall, where they’d performed the “one from the vault” show 7 days earlier. advertised as the jerry garcia band, still a month from their debut, it’s the keith & donna band with garcia & kreutzmann.
a fascinating tape, nearing the end of garcia’s jazz years.
audience:

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #Early
Grateful Dead:
🎵 I Know You Rider
#GratefulDead
https://thereeveshouseband.bandcamp.com/track/i-know-you-rider

50 years ago tonight in concord, the 2nd not-#GratefulDead summit featuring the jerry garcia band, kingfish, & the keith & donna band (featuring b. kreutzmann), all getting ready to hit the road. no circulating tapes of kingfish nor keith’s solo debut in his hometown. 1st big show for the new jerry garcia band, playing in the middle slot. soundboard:

50 years ago today, the last known #GratefulDead session from bob weir’s ace’s studio in mill valley, for jerry garcia’s in-progress “reflections” album, a ‘70s/early ‘80s garcia standard never played live by the dead. https://

40 years ago today, the #GratefulDead close their summer ’85 in chula vista, a mellow sunday afternoon on a community college football field. as close to the border as they ever played besides el paso ’73. late summer ’85, show #12.
soundboard:

50 years ago today, the #GratefulDead in #SanFrancisco, an all-time classic. perhaps the tightest, most well-rehearsed show in the band’s history, played to a room full of #radio execs/programmers sittin…

today, at last, the good ol’ #GratefulDead cast takes up residence at ace’s to begin going song by song through “blues for allah” (& more loosely, month by month through 1975) with session tapes, multitracks, lyric drafts, & a 3-ring circus of guests, starting with “help on the way”!

50 years ago today, the #GratefulDead at ace’s, ostensibly working on jerry garcia’s next solo album, but running through one of the coolest pieces of music from ’75, sometimes called a jam but actually one of the many instrumentals workshopped for “blues for allah,” only released in 2004.

50 years ago today, the #GratefulDead take over the great american music hall in #SanFrancisco for an extended soundcheck before the next day’s radio showcase.
much (but not all) coming on the “blues for allah” 50th reissue:

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead in #oakland, the last of 3 nights at kaiser convention center & possibly the last dead show with liquid lights plus slides/cartoons, etc. late summer ’85, show #11.
soundboard:

40 years ago today, the #GratefulDead in #oakland, opening the 2nd of 3 ’85 runs at the reopened kaiser convention center, with old school liquid light show for 1st time in years. late summer ’85, show #9.
soundboard:

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead in #oakland, the middle night of 3 at the kaiser convention center with a proper liquid light show. mickey hart’s 42nd. late summer ’85, show #10.
soundboard:

on this week’s good ol’ #GratefulDead cast, we unpack “franklin’s tower,” including tape of garcia's 1st time singing it, a look into the multitracks, & robert hunter’s verse-by-verse lyric breakdown (in response to our buddy jürgen fauth!)

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #90TEEN
Grateful Dead:
🎵 China Cat Sunflower
#GratefulDead
https://genetictrance.bandcamp.com/track/and-finlay-2003-grateful-dead-china-cat-sunflower-guitar-pro-best-hair-in-a-jar-best-free-svg-editor-programs-lewisburg-penitentiary-death-row
https://open.spotify.com/track/65lco7HdqqgIVVDmEgX6G9
🎶 show playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20Rz1l3z2ghKiLzcxe3HpQ
🎶 KEXP playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VNALrOa3gWbk794YuIrwg

on this week’s #GratefulDead cast, rich & i come to “the music never stopped,” tracing from jam to song, exploring how the music almost stopped (& the band had to sell their record companies), & getting into mid-‘70s pot smuggling & “high times” with @…

40 years ago today, the #GratefulDead conclude their 3 afternoon shows at red rocks in colorful #colorado, goofy fun with very present garcia. late summer ’85, show #8.
soundboard:

40 years ago today, the #GratefulDead at red rocks, the middle of 3 afternoon gigs. one of the shortest 2-set dead gigs, barely 2 hours of music. late summer ’85, show #7.
soundboard: https://archive.org/…

40 years ago today, the #GratefulDead open 3 days at red rocks, playing afternoon shows in an attempt to avoid the usual evening rain. fun daylight photos/videos. late summer ’85, show #6.
soundboard: https://

40 years ago today, the #GratefulDead in kansas city, MO. late summer ’85, show #5.
soundboard: https://archive.org/details/gd1985-09-03.sbd.miller.34772.flac16

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead celebrate labor day ’85 in #oklahoma city. good party jams. late summer ’85, show #4.
soundboard: ht…

50 years ago today, a #GratefulDead session at ace’s, working on jerry garcia’s “reflections” album, reviving on a pair of then-sidelined dead songs. both songs’ 1st appearances with a 2nd drummer, mickey hart now back in the band. htt…

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead’s last ever show in #austin. their final appearance at manor downs, established by dead family members frances carr & sam cutler, though only carr was probably still there in ’85. late summer ’85, show #3. audience tapes only:

40 years ago tonight, the #GratefulDead in swampy #houston, a sweaty evening at astroworld. late summer ’85, show #2.
soundboard: https://…

today, we launch the 12th season of the good ol’ #GratefulDead cast by (at long last!) welcoming dan healy, longtime dead sound wiz, who virtually invented the job of front-of-house engineer, among many other innovations over nearly 30 years. https://www.