Different Paths, Same Bus: Why The Dead Endure

We roam the Capitol Theatre courtyard to collect origin stories, keepsakes, and the moments that made devotees of casual listeners. Across ages, fans trace their paths through single songs, friends with extra tickets, and the enduring gravity of Phil, Bobby, and Melvin.

• How younger fans find the dead through one song
• How friends and Dark Star Orchestra convert first-timers
• How older heads remember early shows yet live for the present
• Favorite memorabilia that carries memory and identity
• Why Phil Lesh and Friends felt special at the Cap

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Transcript

Courtyard Setup And Theme

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Recently, I was at a Melvin Seals and JGB show, and during set break, I wandered out into the courtyard and started talking to fans. Fans of all ages. And I found myself asking the same questions I ask a lot of my guests. I wasn't planning on making an episode out of it, but some of the stories were great and worth sharing. So here it is rapid fire from the courtyard of the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York. For this segment, I'm gonna roughly go backwards chronologically by age, starting with some of the older deadheads, going down to some pretty young ones. Because I thought there were some themes that really stood out. One thing that really jumped out at me was that the younger women I talked to found the dead through a song. It was something about the lyrics and the music that really just grabbed them. On the other hand, a lot of the young men got dragged to a show by a friend. And after that, they were hooked. They also tended to mention Darkstar Orchestra. It seems that that's the live experience that really got these kids fully on the bus. The older generation, a little bit different. So that's the setup. Different generations, different paths, but all winding up in the same place. And happy to be here. Fantastic. That's amazing. Do you like honestly remember any of it? Did you know it was a special show?

SPEAKER_11 2:18

Well, yeah, from the just from the volume. I mean the number of people, and I mean it was just a whole lot of humanity, you know? Yeah. And uh don't remember too much else, but yeah, but man, what a classic show to be able to say you were there.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

It was amazing. What was the moment back in the day?

SPEAKER_08 2:37

72 in the Waterbury, uh, Connecticut, hometown Palace Theater. Two nights. My brother got me in the back door. Uh he was a uh ushered back in the day. I was 14. Yeah, and Bobby played there 50 years later in the same house. Uh 50 years to the day. He was up, I guess he was 72. I mean, uh 2022.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

I was just listening to the Waterberry show.

SPEAKER_08 3:08

Oh my god, yesterday tonight, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

I was just listening to the yesterday.

SPEAKER_08 3:14

All those old school show uh songs like Mexicali Blues and all those guys. It's so great.

SPEAKER_12 3:20

Uh, we're old heads. You know who hopped on the bus in 91, never look back. What happened though? Like, what struck you? I'll tell you what struck me. I'm a big metalhead, right? My buddy gave me a ticket for my 20th birthday. I'm like, what the fuck am I gonna do with this? Yeah, why not? Because I do whatever. I came, I looked through the songs in, I'm like, how do I get a ticket for tomorrow and never look back? All right, what about you?

SPEAKER_05 3:40

Mine was community, I love the people. Um in general, honestly, I was randomly just listening and a ramble on rows. I just listened to Ramble on Rows. Totally random, just came on the radio and I was like, this is a great song. What is this? And just went with it. So it wasn't a friend or it's funny because my dad is old enough to be a deadhead, but wasn't a deadhead, never showed me the dead.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

That's actually really cool. So just like it was on the radio? Legit?

SPEAKER_05 4:07

Uh just yeah, legit on the radio. Uh there was a local like just a local radio that used to do dead dead hour.

SPEAKER_10 4:14

Oh, right, right. I read a magazine article. About the Grateful Dead? Yeah.

unknown 4:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 4:20

And then you just were like, I'm gonna give it a go. I was like, this is I was curious about it, and then I turned the music on and I didn't. It just sounded different than like what I expected, but I liked it and I was like, huh. Um and then just started listening to more and more of it and started going to shows. That's awesome. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

It's through him. Uh I mean, half the time I go over to his apartment, it's just, you know, whatever day it is plus 1980, whatever, 70, whatever, six years. Essentially, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 4:45

Oh, definitely a friend. They uh took me to a Darkstar concert. I was like, and I was hooked from there. Alright. Maybe even like five, six years ago. Oh, really? Okay, so pretty. I'm pretty new for that.

SPEAKER_09 4:57

My first time at the Capitol was just a few months ago with this guy. How many times have you been here total? This is my second time. Yeah. And that Darkstar show?

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Is that yeah, Darkstar show.

SPEAKER_09 5:06

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Alright, and what about like just you guys are pretty young? Like, what got you on the bus in general in the Grateful Dead world?

SPEAKER_09 5:12

This guy.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

This guy right here. What about this guy? What got you into the Grateful Dead?

SPEAKER_06 5:18

Um, in college, I was in a band and they played some Grateful Dead music. My parents weren't into the dead, but yeah, it was cool playing the music. And yeah, just coming to these shows is great to get back into that.

SPEAKER_09 5:29

What about you, brother? My dad, we had a lot of vinyl records in the house. The live 72.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yeah, nice, nice 72.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

Um, my parents, uh my parents went on dead tour back in the day, and my mom's over there. I was born to the song Eyes of the World.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

I came out that was playing in the background. Yeah, that's amazing. What about you?

SPEAKER_00 5:51

I heard Friend of the Devil around a campfire when I was in like middle school, and it got me.

Songs, Friends, And Live Conversions

SPEAKER_02 5:57

That was it, you're books. Next up, I always like to ask people, what's your favorite piece of Grateful Dead memorabilia? Or like, do you have a relic? I like this question a lot because it tells you a lot about what people cherish and why they stay connected to the music. You guys have like a favorite piece of memorabilia you have? Any kind of Grateful Dead stuff at home that's like super close to your heart?

SPEAKER_04 6:29

Hmm. I mean, I have a lot I have a lot of like shirts that I cherish and stuff that were like passed down to me. Um also like I love saving tickets from shows and stuff like that that I'll have.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Real tickets? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:42

When you can get them. When you can get them. They're hard to come by.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

Uh so you had shirts passed down to you from your family?

SPEAKER_04 6:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

What about you? You got anything at home? Just anything that sticks out?

SPEAKER_00 6:52

I have a little purple vest with blue dancing bears on it, and it was given to me by an old head, and she got it um on Jerry's last tour. So uh that's very special, very pleasant.

SPEAKER_07 7:05

Really cool. Oh yeah, pins. I got some uh Danny Snydman and Grateful Dead pins are my that's really close to my heart for sure. Probably my favorite.

SPEAKER_10 7:12

Uh I have a fair amount. Um, probably this one like Blues for All a t-shirt from the late 80s that I got on eBay. Okay. And it's like all tied up, like somebody wore it probably hundreds of times, and they retied it up with the t-shirt, like neck head. Oh, okay. Yeah, it's really cool. And then they like re-stitched the front up. It's a cool shirt.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Um, and you got some amazing style. Thank you. Um, tell me a little bit about like some swag or memorabilia you have at home. Is there anything that sticks out to you there that's extra special to you?

SPEAKER_05 7:42

100%. I collect set lists. I have probably over 150 set lists from all the different shows I've been to, and a lot of them are from here. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 7:50

So the the actual official set list that the band had and they hand it to you? So you're on the rail and they hand it to you, or absolutely. That's a really cool.

SPEAKER_05 7:58

Well, you just find yourself at the rail at the end of the show.

SPEAKER_12 8:01

Excellent, excellent. All right. My office is just a shrine to Jerry and Bobby and the whole nine yards. You know, I got a killer piece of stained glass that's a Jerry head that a gal made in our community.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Yeah, that hangs in my window. It's righteous. What about you? You got any special, like really sticks out for you? Yeah, we wear it on our sleeve every day, brother. Both of us there it is. Got the steely show it, show it to the camera. The Steely tax. 25th anniversary wedding anniversary, you got the Steely. That's amazing, guys. Is there anything that you've collected throughout the years?

SPEAKER_08 8:33

My ticket stubs, treasures, yeah. And I got like suitcases of old cassette tapes. No, you got the tape. Yeah, like hordes of them.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

And then there was this one guy, and honestly, you couldn't miss him. Big old white Jerry Garcia beard, tie-dye, sort of quiet off in the corner, but sort of still had this larger-than-life presence. You heard him speak earlier about his first show being English Town, 1977. And just to set the scene, he wasn't exactly in a wheelchair, but more like a sitting scooter. And to be honest, I didn't even notice why he was in that scooter until I asked him about his favorite relic. Because it's his prosthetic leg. And if you're a deadhead, it's the coolest leg you'll ever see. Do you have any memorabilia or swag or anything that's like super close to your heart? How about that? Oh baby, tell me about it.

SPEAKER_11 9:35

Well, when I first uh got a temporary leg, I put stickers all over it and stuff, and I thought it was really cool. And then I took it into I went into my um the technician's office, and she said, Well, here's what we can do. And they take t-shirts, stretch them around, laminate them on, and stuff like that, and there it was. That's incredible. And then recently, I was gifted that. Alright, let's get this on camera. What do we got? It's the same thing. It's the same design.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Same design, but it's in a sticker.

Family Roots And Early Imprints

SPEAKER_11 10:10

No, this is that's a pin. Yeah, that's a pin, and uh it matches the leg, baby. Yeah, I just was gifted that.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

That's sick. So you walk around with the Grateful Dead every day. Yeah, man. What a life, incredible. Yeah, yeah. The next question I asked was what was your favorite show that you attended, or just your favorite Grateful Dead moment in general? And it's amazing how the answers changed depending on age and experience. For a lot of the younger fans, and perhaps it had something to do with the location, the clear answer was Phil Lesh and Friends. It was heartwarming to hear the younger crowd have such a powerful connection to Phil.

SPEAKER_10 10:54

What's your favorite show you ever saw out of the 20? Probably Phil's last show here in what 2024, 2023? It was really good. Alright.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Last year, Phil Lesh, after he passed away, Unbroken Chain.

SPEAKER_07 11:08

Unbroken Chain, that was the one. Phil Lesh and friends, always, Phil. Gotta love some Phil.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

One is there one Phil show that you remember, or just Phil in general?

SPEAKER_07 11:19

Oh, it's just all the his blend together, probably the Halloween shows, the Phil Hoween shows. That was probably my first one I've been to of his.

SPEAKER_05 11:28

Probably my favorite time here would probably be when I saw Phil. Probably for the last time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Halloween. Phil made this place extra special, didn't he?

SPEAKER_12 11:37

Absolutely. Phil's birthday. Um just keep O'Keel and friends, Melvin. Just keep them coming.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

The older deadhead struck a little differently. I found the woman who first saw The Grateful Dead in 1972's answer to be really interesting. And it got me wondering if a lot of the older heads who still come out to shows also feel this way. Because she was very rooted in the present.

Memorabilia That Carries The Story

SPEAKER_08 12:01

My favorite, I mean, I just got gifted. I saw Bobby in London at the uh Albert Royal Albert Music Hall. Uh right before he got sick, I guess. And it was probably his last show before the 60th anniversary. And I was handed a ticket, third row front center, the Royal Albert Music Hall. Bobby played there with uh the London Philharmonic. I tell you what, that was a gift I'll never ever forget in my whole life. It was amazing. If you hear he's passed since then, uh he's a treasure I can't even even imagine I was gifted. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

I was there. You were there! No kidding! I went by myself. My my friend got sick and he had to bail, so I decided to go anyway.

SPEAKER_08 12:51

Well, I had just started a new business up there in Acadia, and I was rolling pretty heavy there, and I'm like, I don't care. My son came all the way from California to help me uh cover the bases up there, and I was like, I got Bobby's playing at Royal Albert Music Hall, I gotta go. And then to be gifted third row front and center was like, whoa, yeah, it was a treasure.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

In all your years seeing all these shows, like I know I asked you about the ticket stuff, but do you have any shows that like are always you're always going back to to listen to, or a or a song or a set that like you just have to listen to like once a week? You got anything?

SPEAKER_08 13:31

Well, I listen to Jerry Church every Sunday. I don't know if he's on YouTube. Some dude puts out Jerry Church. That's amazing. He does JGG uh band uh shows, and that's precious to me. Like, you know, I can't wait to wake up on Sunday to listen to Jerry Church, but shout out to the Jerry Church. But so many shows I could never ever imagine. Uh Fair Thee Well is pretty pretty spectacular. Those Chicago shows and the rainbow at Fair Thee Well. That was pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

And of course, I had to ask our new friend, the guy with the prosthetic leg and the big old Jerry Garcia beard, what his favorite show was throughout the years. And I think his answer summed up the Grateful Dead experience perfectly. There's one show particular that stands out for you. The one that I'm at. Thanks for joining me on the So Many Roads Podcast. I'm your host, Pete Booley. Dave Steinman is our show's technical director. Theme music by Sawyer Boolean. Original artwork by Ashley Hodson. You can find us on YouTube, Meta, or our website, so many roads podcast.com. If you have a unique story or perspective to share, feel free to make a comment on any platform. Or hit me up at so many roadspodcast at gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Until next time, let's keep the journey going.