In his first post on the Live Music Blog, Jesse Jarnow weighs in on the recent Grateful Dead / Archive.org debacle currently being picked up by many, major news/blog sites. We’re glad to have him. You can find him bloggin’ on his own site, Jesse’s Frank and Earthy Blog. If you want to send him a note of praise, you can email him at jjarnow@well.com
The
Grateful Dead/archive.org situation is a complicated case — a lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what-have-yous. What is clear, however, is that Deadheads are frickin’ pissed that the soundboard recordings they meticulously organized, remastered, and uploaded are now no longer available via archive.org’s popular Live Music Archive. There is
even a petition filled with deliciously terrible grammar to boycott all Dead merchandise until the situation is resolved. (Please learn the difference between “your” and “you’re,” fellas, and yer case’ll be more convincing.)
Speculation — fueled by unsubstantiated posts on archive.org’s message board — is that Deborah Koons Garcia, Jer’s legendary “Black Widow,” is responsible. Sadly, it’s almost definitely not that simple. Over the summer, I interviewed Dead lyricist, Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder, and professional righteous dude John Perry Barlow for a Rolling Stone blurblet about archive.org. He mentioned that he and Grateful Dead Productions president Cameron Sears had recently spoken about the situation, with Sears none-too-happy that the Dead’s vault was basically available for free. (see update below)
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Chilly JackWater (Best Show Ever) is taking his first turn at guest-bloggin’ on the Live Music Blog. I’m pleased as punch to have him, so enjoy his first post–a review of Tea Leaf Green’s recent two-night run at NYC’s Coda with a lot of predictions on what this band will be to the scene in the near future. You can email him praise and nice words only at chilly@livemusicblog.com.
I hate show reviews that read roughly like this:
“(Band name) busted into (city) on fire last Friday night. (The first song) was a nice way to get the party started. With (bass player) and (drummer) setting down a funky groove…blah blah blah”
So I’m offering up a review of Tea Leaf Green’s two-night stand at Coda in NYC with a little perspective.
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From the Dave Matthews Band Announcement list…
Dave Matthews & Friends Line-up Announced
We are pleased to announce that the following musicians will be backing Dave for the island concert:
Trey Anastasio – guitar and vocals
Brady Blade – drums
Tony Hall – bass and vocals
Ray Paczkowski – keyboards
Tim Reynolds – guitar
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As mentioned yesterday, we’re going to have some guest-bloggers stop by this week and drop off some thoughts. I’m happy to report that it’s happening much sooner than later.
It is with great pleasure that I introduce fellow blogger and NYC local, Chilly JackWater.
Between DJing gigs at Pan-Asian restaurants (Joya and Song) in Brooklyn, as well as updating his own little blog, Best Show Ever (bestshowever.blogspot.com), Chilly JackWater produces TV for MTV, VH1, and AOL
Music. He has written for jambands.com (under his other pen name, “Jim Wrantz”) and is proudest of introducing MTV audiences to MOFRO, through the piece he did for MTV News’ “You Hear It First.” (It’s still
up on MTV.com. Check it out.)
RE: Grateful Dead / Archive.org debacle
Everything I’m reading is telling me who did what and who decided what with no clear answers.
On below, I’m not sure how clear this is other than “yeah, I hear you…” but it helps to explain the discourse in the band even after they’ve reconciled and whatnot. He wasn’t even in on this decision supposedly. Weird.
An Announcement from Phil Lesh:
It was brought to my attention that all of the Grateful Dead shows were taken down from Archive.org right before Thanksgiving. I was not part of this decision making process and was not notified that the shows were to be pulled. I do feel that the music is the Grateful Dead’s legacy and I hope that one way or another all of it is available for those who want it . I have enjoyed using Archive.org and found it invaluable during the writing of my book. I found myself being pulled back in time listening to old Grateful Dead shows while giggling with glee or feeling that ache in my heart listening to Jerry’s poetic guitar and sweet voice.
We are musicians not businessmen and have made good and bad decisions on our journey. We do love and care about our community as you helped us make the music. We could not have made this kind of music without you as you allowed us to play “without a net”. Your love, trust and patience made it possible for us to try again the next show when we couldn’t get that magic carpet off the ground. Your concerns have been heard and I am sure are being respectfully addressed.
- Phil
They’ve announced the lineup for Langerado, and it looks UNBELIEVABLE. Their website hasn’t been updated with the information though.
One question–do Michael Franti & Spearhead and Keller Williams play every single festival that anyone asks them to attend? I swear they played every festival together last year, and honestly, I could do a couple festivals without seeing them. I guess that’s the freedom of choice, though.
Voted “Best Music Festival” by City Link magazine, for 2006 Langerado announces its biggest and best line-up ever:
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
The Black Crowes
The Flaming Lips, Wilco, The Meters, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Keller Williams, Burning Spear, G. Love & Special Sauce, Steel Pulse, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Drive-By Truckers, The Secret Machines, Umphrey’s McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, MOFRO, Slightly Stoopid, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Brazilian Girls, Kid Koala, Lyrics Born, RJD2, Kinky, Rose Hill Drive, Brothers Past, Pnuma Trio, Lotus, Mike Relm and more! Please visit http://www.langerado.com/artists.html for a complete list of performers.
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