Brianland

Floating Universities  — The Power of The Collective in Art . Give me your befuddled masses, Your rejection slips, pink slips, verbal slips, all; Knock down the gates, throw open the bars, The artists are havin a ball. Teach me, show me, let me in; Challenge me, push me, help me win. Athletes have their […]

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  I saw the best minds of many generations, dancing, hysterical, naked … at the Farewell send-off of the Gratest live band in history. While The Grateful Dead were breaking the all-time attendance records for Soldier Field stadium in Chicago — I was seeing them in a small venue from about 5th row center.  I […]

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Getting My Phil at The Crossroads . . It’s the Father’s Day weekend, 2015, and my bassist bud Al Robinson tipped me that PhilZone.com had its countdown clock to the next Phil show indicating Sunday night.  That was the only lead I had. I was out in the Bay Area where, a few years ago, […]

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. Somewhere in America . . . Pranksters are gathering . . . and in this case it was Wonderland. A dozen acres of wilderness hills and valleys, with a sunken natural amphitheater on the highest point of land in sight. 150 or so Pranksters came from across the land, traveling by every mode there […]

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. With all the energy peaking over The Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary shows, here’s a little excerpt from my upcoming book — “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac” — that shows part of why we keep coming back. These shows at Red Rocks in ’82 were part of the largest gathering of Beats ever assembled, […]

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The Prankster Woodstock . “I’ve got to get back to the land and set my soul free … “ Two of the coolest events of the ’60s just came together in the 21st century — and I lived it from start to finish. The Merry Pranksters’ Bus, which pulled out of Ken Kesey’s house in […]

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 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 […]

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  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’ […]

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The Grateful Dead Played My 30th  Or Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned At A Grateful Dead Concert             The weekend of my 30th birthday, four old friends drove from Winnipeg to New York to help celebrate it, and the Grateful Dead flew in from San Francisco to play. It’s a curious story […]

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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 summer […]

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