I’m a Deadhead. I love The Grateful Dead and the beautiful music they made for nearly thirty years. In college, Spring Break did not mean Daytona Beach or fun in the sun. It meant one thing. A week on the road with the Grateful Dead on their annual east coast spring tour. These epic road trips started in central Maine and included three nights in Albany, NY for shows at Knickerbocker Arena, then down to Nassau, Long Island for three nights and then, if we had any money left, three more nights in Landover, MD. Ahhhh, the memories.
The New York Times recently wrote a great article about the Dead and their die hard fans, Bring Out Your Dead .
There are at least five different levels to how fans talk about the Dead. The basement level concerns the band’s commercially released albums. This is how a lot of interested but inexpert people once talked about the Dead — myself included — in the early 1980s. The next level is periods or eras, the conversation I was prepared for. There was the aggressive, noisy, color-saturated improvising from 1968 to 1970; the gentler and more streamlined songwriting and arranging of ’72 and ’73; the spooky harmonies of 1975; the further mellowing and mild grooves that lay beyond. Next comes the level of the Dead’s best night…
After that comes particular songs within particular performances.
For the record, my favorite Dead era’s are, in order, 1975-78, 1972-73, and 1981-83. The article went on to debate what was the best Grateful Dead show of all time. My personal favorite is Venetta Oregon, August 27, 1972. Of course, this is a completely subjective exercise with no right or wrong answers. With more than 2,300 concerts to choose from, it makes for an interesting conversation, amongst Deadheads at least.
Deadheads have often been polled about their favorite show, through fanzines and Web sites. The answers have stayed fairly consistent. May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, Cornell University.
After reading this article last month, I have gone on a deep dive thanks to Archive.org where there are thousands of Dead shows online and ready to stream. I’ve listened, and re-listened to many of the shows that are on the short list for “greatest show ever”, including the amazing week of shows in May 1977, beginning May 5 in New Haven, CT to Boston Garden on the 7th, the epic Cornell show and finally May 9 in Buffalo. That spring tour in 1977 is widely regarded as their best tour ever. After re-listening, it’s easy to see why.
The NY Times has also posted a great interactive feature for Deadheads to debate The Greatest Show Ever. The Times lists four shows to pick from,
1.) Fillmore East, February 13-14 1970
2.) Harpur College, Binghampton, NY May 2, 1970
3.) Venetta Oregon, August 27, 1972
4.) Barton Hall, Cornell University, May 8, 1977
Grateful Dead era’s are usually broken out by keyboard players, as that has been the hot seat in the band. Remember Spinal Tap and all the exploding drummers? They got that gag from the Dead and their revolving keyboard players. The rotation of keyboardists was a hinge point for the band to take their music in new and exciting directions. The early years, 1965-1972 were defined by the blues singing of keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernen. Pigpen drank himself to death in 1973 at age 28, opening the door for two new band members and an entirely different sound. In 1972, the husband and wife team of Keith (piano) and Donna Jean Godchaux (vocals) joined the band stayed on until Keith’s drinking forced their exit in 1979. This was, in my opinion, the period of their most amazing and consistent work as a band. The band then turned to the great Brent Mydland, who combined amazing vocals with virtuoso electric piano and organ work that electrified the band in the early 1980’s. After Brent died from a drug overdose in 1990, the band brought in Bruce Hornsby for a number of shows, and then finally, Vince Welnick for the final few years until Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995.
1970 “Pigpen Era”
1972 “Keith and Donna”
1977 “The Greatest Year”
1980 “Brent Midland”
1990’s “So Many Roads” (This is a beautiful song)
For a bonus, here is a great Jerry ballad and one of my favorite songs to see live, Loser. It takes until about 1:45 mark before they start playing, but it is worth the wait
What a rude host I am sometimes. I invite my friend Sam Bowlby to the WRKO studios for a couple of hours of radio fun and we lasted thirty minutes, bumped by the Red Sox game that would not end. The Celtics playoff pre-game show was starting on WEEI so baseball was headed to WRKO at 6:30pm.
Sam, you may recall, is a veteran of two tours in Iraq. He graduated in 2004 from Hamilton College, one of the nation’s finest, and instead of law or business school, he entered the Marines. Two tours in Iraq, then an MBA at Babson and some project work at Google, that’s what Sam had done when we last spoke. He’s now working on a part-time basis with The Program,
The Program was founded in 2008 with the mission of providing high schools, professional and collegiate teams, and corporate organizations, with the best leadership and team building development in the country. Under the leadership of CEO and Founder Eric Kapitulik, The Program creates personalized leadership development training that challenges every member of YOUR team to get “that much better.”
So many times Bruce McQuain and I have spoken about the leadership qualities in the men and women featured in the Someone You Should Know segment.This is a great example of applying those skills in a unique and interesting way, challenging the big men on campus to step out of their comfort zone and truly learn about teamwork. Sam recently participated in training session a some major college football programs. My hat is off to those coaches who think outside the box. True leadership skills go far beyond the confines of the football field. Did I mention Sam was a football star at Hamilton College before entering the Marines?
After catching up a bit about his latest work, I had to ask Sam about President Obama’s trip to Afghanistan this week. I told Sam that I wasn’t bothered by Obama’s trip, or his interview with Brian Williams. Seeing as though George W. Bush landed a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier, I find it hard to complain about presidential triumphalism over Osama, right up until the Bill Clinton video this week, which was just awful. Sam’s perspective was different, for obvious reasons. It was an interesting discussion that we had to unfortunately cut short after thirty minutes.
I owe Sam a mulligan.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
So I saw a headline yesterday that the Twilight guy Robert Pattison has signed on to a movie about the capture of Saddam Hussein. I wondered immediately if this was the movie adaptation of Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein—As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture. It is! How cool. We had the honor of interviewing the author of that great book, Eric Maddox, several times.
When Army Staff Sergeant Eric Maddox arrived in Iraq he had never interrogated a prisoner. Five months later he left with the DIA Director’s Award, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement for his key role in the capture of Saddam Hussein. Not only did he do that, his work identified the insurgency funding and leadership network, which had been previously unknown to the US military. He did this by focusing on the social and family networks of captured prisoners.
Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein—As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture
Just incredible what he did and how he did it. This is a great book and it was an honor to be able to speak to SSG Maddox.
Eric has returned to Pundit Review Radio several times since and we have stayed in touch via email
Here is Eric, along with social media guru Paul Gillin, discussing how social networks are about people, not technology
Most recently, Eric joined us to discuss the killing of Osama Bin Laden. I figured who better to talk to about that than the man who masterminded the capture of Saddam?
I consider it an honor that Eric is a friend of the program and that we have kept in touch all this time. He’s an amazing patriot and a great, great guy. His story is so great, I don’t think even Hollywood could screw this one up.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
From the archives, September 2009 in fact. I took a trip up to the masonic lodge in Newburyport, MA to see the George Washington inaugural bible. I’d heard stories about it, and thought it was a short trip to take to see such a part of American history. I’m glad I went.
I read in the paper that this piece of history would be on display about 20 minutes from home and I couldn’t resist. This bible was printed in 1767 and used at George Washinton’s inauguration on April 30, 1789. It has also been used in some of the most regrettable events in our history, like Lincoln’s funeral and Jimmy Carter’s inauguration.
Here is how the Free Masons of St. John’s Lodge No. 1, tell the story of the George Washington Inaugural Bible,
“On April 30, 1789, an event took place of the greatest importance to the whole world. It was the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, on the spot marked today by his statue erected in Wall Street, near Nassau…
…“Everything was ready for the administration of the oath of office to the president of the new government, when it was found that there had not been provided a Holy Bible on which the President-elect could swear allegiance to the Constitution, Jacob Morton, who was Marshal of the parade and at that time, Master of St. John’s Lodge, was standing close by, and, seeing the dilemma they were in, remarked that he could get the altar Bible of St. John’s Lodge, which met at the “Old Coffee House,” corner of Water and Wall Streets. Chancellor Livingston begged him to do so. The Bible was brought, and the ceremony proceeded.
George Washington Inaugural Bible
Up close
Washington the Free Mason
A funeral notice for Washington
Hard for me to put into a few words how thrilled I was to welcome Frank Warren to Pundit Review Radio. Frank Warren is the man behind PostSecret.com. So what is Post Secret?
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
PostSecret
13345 Copper Ridge Road
Germantown, MD 20874, USA
A very simple idea that has led to some pretty amazing, moving and inspirational things. It has launched a massive community, the kind most social media companies can only dream about. In fact, Post Secret is the most trafficked advertising free website in the world. There are public events, books and now, even a play.
Here is a sample, from the man himself,
I’m happy to report that Frank was as cool, gracious and charming as he comes across in the video. It really was an honor for me to have nearly thirty minutes to talk with Frank about this amazing project. I read the site every Sunday, and five minutes on it can stay with me an entire week. I highly recommend you check out Post Secret.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
We classed up the show last night by welcoming Professor Maurice Cunningham to the WRKO studio. While he may be the chair of UMASS Boston political science department, more important to us, he’s a terrific blogger, and yes, tweeter! In addition to some great columns for Commonwealth Magazine, Professor Cunningham writes at a great group blog, Mass Politics Profs.
We discussed the impact of blogging and social media and we also talked a lot about Massachusetts politics. The Senate race is setting up to be among the best in the nation. We also discussed Gov Patrick and his, in my opinion, pathetic response to the EBT scandal. Professor Cunningham has written a column on the EBT issue I highly recommend reading. Finally, we got around to former governor Romney’s and his quest for the White House.
It was a great to meet Professor Cunningham in person after reading him for so long in Commonwealth Magazine and on the terrific Mass Politics Profs blog.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Staff Sgt. Trevor D. Tow. From the Army Times account,
With rounds from both enemy weapons flying by his head, body and feet and hitting the ground around him, Tow continued to fight in the open by himself. Another Ranger then moved into the open to fight alongside Tow, who shortly afterward killed one enemy fighter. The two Rangers then focused their fire on the second enemy fighter, killing him.
As the rest of the squad provided aid to Wright, Tow remained in the open. As he was providing security for his men, he saw a third enemy fighter moving toward them. That enemy fighter threw three grenades that landed as close as 10 feet away from Tow.
Tow continued to stand his ground, firing back at the insurgent. The two exchanged fire until Tow managed to kill the enemy.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK archive can be found here and The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.