Ever since YouTube upped the time limit for videos you can upload to its site, more full shows from a wide variety of artists have appeared on the video portal. There's plenty of full Phish and Grateful Dead performances on YouTube, but today we wanted to point you in the direction of JGB. On November 13, 1991, the Jerry Garcia Band rolled into Worcester's Centrum during a tour that found Garcia laying down some of his best work of the era. YouTuber HappyCalif has uploaded over two glorious hours worth of footage from that night, put [...]
I kicked this week off with a "vintage" live performance, so figure I'd close the week out in the same way. Lately there have been a few Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band discs that have been getting a lot of play time of my iPod, namely the highly recommendable Ragged But Right and Pure Jerry: Lunt-Fontanne, New York City - October 31, 1987 . Both releases feature Jerry backed by a formidable band that includes John Kahn (bass), David Kemper (drums), Kenny Kosek (fiddle), David Nelson (guitar) and Sandy Rothman (mandolin, dobro). The [...]
It's a bittersweet 8 days every year between August 1 and August 9 for Jerry Garcia fans, celebrating his birthday (August 1, 1942) and the anniversary of his death (August 9, 1995). I have to admit, I wasn't always a fan. It wasn't until 1994 when someone shook some musical sense into me and took me to my first Dead show, that I realized what all the hype was about. (Thank you Aric, I am forever grateful). Up until that point, I was an 80's hair band girl. Yes, BIG hair and all! Oh [...]

While we certainly don't pretend to be experts on the world of hip-hop around these part, we undoubtedly had to sit up and take notice when two of the biggest names in the genre decided to not only team up to put out an album, but to also hit the road together. On August 8, the dynamic duo of Jay-Z and Kanye West , will release their long in the works debut album Watch The Throne . The pair, who have dubbed themselves The Throne, have lined up a 24-date fall tour, that kicks [...]

Dylan's 70th birthday is nigh upon us, and as he seems to still be walking the earth after the predicted Rapture has come and gone, we can only assume that either he wasn't any worthier than we, or - once again - the extremists have proved themselves no more able to predict God's timing than the rest of us. Me, I'm quite proud of myself for not giving in to the temptation to release a mess of helium-filled blow-up dolls to the heavens down on main street. Instead, I spent a long [...]

There have been a bunch of '80s Jerry Garcia Band shows circulating lately, both acoustic and electric. I've been digging into 1984, not a year I'm particularly well versed in as far as Garcia's solo projects go, and keep coming back to the first set from 3/10 at Keystone. It's a four song affair, opening with Rhapsody in Red followed by a trio of tunes each reaching the 13 minute mark. Knockin' is particularly nice, laced with reggae passages and lively guitar and organ, [...]
Of all those who've played Dylan, and many have, Jerry and the boys have to be at the top in importance and savvy. The Jerry Garcia Band performed "Simple Twist of Fate" on March 1st, 1980 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours , News , New Music , Exclusive Longtime fans of the Grateful Dead know that Jerry Garcia 's downtime wasn't spent idly. With the Jerry Garcia Band , he worked on the same traditional roots music that he had performed in bands like Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions in his pre- Dead days. Something in Garcia clearly yearned for to return to that time, and in 1987, he assembled the Jerry [...]
On this date 15 years ago we lost the one and only Jerry Garcia at the all to young age of 53. In a search for the perfect video to post to honor him - which seems almost impossible - I stumbled upon this sublime and stunningly beautiful performance of What A Wonderful World which the Jerry Garcia Band encored with at the Hartford Civic Center on Nov. 17, 1991. Enjoy... Jerry Garcia Band - What A Wonderful World
Jerry Garcia Band - "Tangled Up In Blue" 9.1.90 - Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA Happy Birthday, Jerry

Jerry Garcia Band: I Shall Be Released [ purchase ] I could get lost in this song. The mournful vocals, the defiant lyrics, the curly-cues of cascading notes emanating from Jerry Garcia's guitar on both of his lengthy solos. It all works for me. Many have tackled this song, and some have excelled, but this version, this is the one for me. As for the song itself, what can one say? It is one of Dylan's simplest, yet more effective [...]
Even more media, here's a video of Dave & Tim: Emmylou Harris : Emmylou Harris is all over this Cover Wars. Not only did she record this song herself in 1998, but she also has sung it with the original artist, and sings backup on Willie Nelson's rendition you'll hear in a minute. That is some serious Cover Wars incest. Source: Spyboy Emmylou joins Daniel Lanois: Jerry Garcia Band : [...]

Jerry Garcia Band: Evangeline [ purchase ] I only saw the Grateful Dean a handful of times, in the early '90s, and each time it was a a bit depressing. There was no fire to the music. One song rolled on after another, the band's speed seemingly stuck on "mid-tempo chug". Despite their well-deserved reputation for improvisation, there was a sense of inevitability about each concert: the fans expected a certain thing from the band and they gave it to them. So hearing the double-live [...]

Filed under: News , MP3 , New Music , Exclusive Although rock audiences are familiar with the Grateful Dead 's 'Friend of the Devil,' guitarist/singer Jerry Garcia often explored different sides of the song in his various solo projects. This version, taken from the new archival release 'Let it Rock: Jerry Garcia Band 1975,' is an unusually jazzy interpretation featuring keyboard embellishments from Nicky Hopkins, who was only a member of the Jerry Garcia Band during their inaugural tour. This initial incarnation [...]
MUSIC NEWS - For Jerry Garcia , 1975 was a seminal year that found him splitting time between recording Blues for Allah with the Dead, directing The Grateful Dead Movie , and forming the Jerry Garcia Band, his long-running side project. We now have word that The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol 2 (Let it Rock) gets a release on November 17 via Grateful Dead Records / WEA. The Jerry Garcia [...]

This has already been a stellar year for Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia archival releases, but Rhino will up the ante with the next batch of releases set to drop on or around November 10. Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2: Let It Rock will feature selections from the JGB shows at the legendary Keystone in Berkeley on November 17 and 18, 1975, while Road Trips Vol. 3, No. 1 contains the entire Grateful Dead show from December 28, 1979. Let It Rock [...]
Ain't No Bread In The Breadbox - Jerry Garcia Band 11.15.91 - Madison Square Garden, New York, New York My lil bro always said he liked JGB more than the Dead. There was really something special and different about it. Jerry had a way of reaching deep down into you and grabbing a hold of your soul. i always felt like the music of JGB was more inspirational than the Grateful Dead. I felt like I was going to church. Ain't No Bread in the Breadbox became a staple of a lot of the JGB shows I went to [...]
The Music Never Stopped -> Franklin's Tower - Grateful Dead 3.13.85 - BCT, Berkeley, CA Some wonderful jamming from a Rex Foundation Benefit from 1985. A pristine soundboard recording as well. Give it a spin.

A Musical Life RSL special guest post by Jeremy Seiferth JERRY GARCIA Aug 1, 1942 – Aug 9, 1995 REMEMBERING - Jerry Garcia passed away 14 years ago today due to complications of battling [...]