. The Grateful Dead were Jack manifested as music. Their essence was born of the road and adventures. They worked in improvisational music like spontaneous prose. They broke every rule of showbiz … then broke every concert record there is — just as Kerouac broke every rule of grammar — then had over 50 books […]
The Grateful Dead: Jack Kerouac Manifested As Music
April 28th, 2018 · 9 Comments · Grateful Dead, Kerouac and The Beats
Tags: Carolyn Cassady·Fare Thee Well·Grateful Dead·Jack Kerouac·Jerry Garcia·Neal Cassady·On The Road·San Francisco
Red Roses, Green Gold theater review
October 17th, 2017 · 13 Comments · Grateful Dead, Movies, New York City
New Hunter-Garcia Musical comes up Roses . . Hear ye! Hear ye! Behold — a re-imagining of the Hunter-Garcia songbook. New life. New arrangements. New band. New set. New stage. New story. If you’d like a fresh way to approach Grateful Dead music — go to this show. If you like the Dead and theater […]
Tags: George Walker·Grateful Dead·Jerry Garcia·Neal Cassady·New York City·Phil Lesh·Robert Hunter
How The Beats Begat The Pranksters
September 17th, 2017 · 3 Comments · Grateful Dead, Kerouac and The Beats, Merry Pranksters
How The Beats Begat The Pranksters . Beat Carolyn & Prankster Babbs, Boulder ’82 . It all started on September 5th, 1957 when a certain book got published . . . Or no . . . it all started in April 1951 when a guy sat down at a typewriter with a long scroll of […]
Tags: Allen Ginsberg·Beat Generation·Dean Moriarty·Dennis McNally·Jack Kerouac·Jerry Garcia·Ken Kesey·Merry Pranksters·Neal Cassady·On The Road·Perry Lane
Long Strange Trip – Grateful Dead doc review
May 2nd, 2017 · 16 Comments · Grateful Dead, Movies
. Let There Be Songs To Fill The Screen . . I remember when I first saw the long-in-the-works Beat Generation documentary “The Source” at its premiere in Manhattan with McClure, Amram and all these other luminaries and we all went to the afterparty at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and everybody was freaking out […]
Tags: Grateful Dead·Jack Kerouac·Jerry Garcia·Ken Kesey·Long Strange Trip doc·Merry Pranksters·Neal Cassady·Robert Hunter
Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac videos
November 16th, 2015 · 4 Comments · Brian on YouTube etc., Hitchhiker's Guide to Jack Kerouac, Kerouac and The Beats, Music, Real-life Adventure Tales
. Here’s some video from various “Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac” appearances . . . in the order the pieces appear in the book . . . Here’s a whole bunch of clips in one YouTube Playlist in the sequence they appear in the book . . . 🙂 . Here’s a great group […]
Tags: Jack Kerouac·Jerry Garcia·Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!·Mark T Band·The Hitchhiker's Guide to Jack Kerouac
Jerry Garcia Band in Toronto
June 16th, 2014 · 26 Comments · Grateful Dead, Music, Real-life Adventure Tales, Weird Things About Me
Not Fade Away — Birthday Adventure 2014 The start of the Adventure. Just home from the 5-show birthday blow-out! Sheesh! Started with New Orleans’ Soul Rebels outdoors in a park with my New Orleans Soul Brother Ross Perlmutter. The funky brass-n-drums combo were joined for some songs by Toronto’s own frontline horndogs […]
Tags: Jerry Garcia·Jerry Garcia Band·Linsmore Tavern·Mark Thackway·Soul Rebels
Spring Peace piece
May 27th, 2014 · 14 Comments · Grateful Dead, Poetry
Spring Peace piece . Gonna ring a big ding Calling out from Sing-Sing Gonna have a spring fling Kinda have an inkling Everything is gonna sell Comin’ out the dripping well Middle East a burning hell Clanging morning warning bell. The toast is up, the jam is done Twisted people think it’s fun Blowin’ […]
Tags: Dalai Lama·Jerry Garcia·John Lennon·Martin Luther King·Sgt. Pepper
Festival Express
April 24th, 2011 · 12 Comments · Grateful Dead, Movies, Music
Here’s an article I wrote on the film Festival Express, published in Relix Magazine, April 2004. Drivin’ That Train . . . The Festival Express Rolls Again After 30 Years by Brian Hassett “That was the best time I’ve had in rock and roll,” said Jerry Garcia. “There were no straight people.” In the […]
Tags: Eddie Kramer·Festival Express·Festival Express movie·Festival Express train trip·Grateful Dead·great rock documentaries·Hassett's Festival Express review·Janis Joplin·Jerry Garcia·Ken Walker·Mickey Hart